The Clones of Mawcett

by DePrima, Thomas

  * * *

  Christa's first visit to the sick bay aboard the Boshdyte was enlightening. As the doctor predicted, she wasn't released from the shackles and had to stumble her way through the corridors of the ship, while being prodded by two guards. Having been unconscious when she was taken to the cell, she hadn't seen anything of the ship until now.

  The hull of her shuttle had been breached after taking fire from the Tsgardi ship so she owed her life to the fact that she'd been wearing an E.V.A. suit. The small torpedo with a limited strength warhead had barely penetrated the stern, but the force had been sufficient to blow out two bulkheads and the bridge partition, and render her unconscious. Her inert form was taken to the brig, stripped of the E.V.A. suit, and shackled to the wall as the Tsgardi searched the small ship. The captain had been so angry when he learned the shuttle was empty of both cargo and passengers that he ran to Christa's cell and whipped her unconscious form mercilessly. He never seemed to suspect that the shuttle flight had only been a ruse to draw him away from the planet temporarily.

  Christa's sickbay visit was her first opportunity to get a basic feel for the layout of the ship. Nothing at all like the orderly, brightly-lit vessels of Space Command, the clutter in the dimly lit corridors was abysmal. The Tsgardi never passed up the opportunity to take anything of even the most minor value when they seized a ship, and the corridors were lined with trash and salvage. Primitive when compared to a sickbay on most GSC ships, the Boshdyte's sickbay was barely adequate for most injuries the doctor was capable of treating. Three patient beds, empty at present, lined one wall. For those cases that couldn't be properly treated aboard the ship, half a dozen stasis beds, capable of suspending most bodily systems until more adequate medical facilities were available, lined another. Of the ship areas that Christa had seen, the sickbay was the only one that was clean and orderly.

  To justify Christa's first trip to the sickbay, the doctor took a complete set of digital radiography images. Thereafter he would just x-ray her arms, since that was where the majority of whip blows landed.

  Every three days Christa was brought to the sickbay for her x-rays and examination. As it became routine, the guards became more and more lax. Pretending to be weak and demoralized, Christa was able to lull them into a sense of absolute, unopposed control.

  * * *

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~ June 7th, 2270 ~

  On the afternoon following the dinner party at the Embassy, Jenetta and Eliza forwarded an electronic copy of their book to Doctor Peterson on Mawcett. They included a copy of the unabridged dictionary Jenetta had created, with a phonetic guide for reading any text found on the planet. Now that she had disseminated information that the original inhabitants were Nordakian primogenitors, it would only have been a matter of time before someone in the MAE made the association with the current Nordakian language.

  They also sent copies of the book and the dictionary to the Space Command Military Library, the Galactic Alliance Council Library, and the Royal Nordakian Literary Guild. The book was dedicated to the eleven scientists working at the Loudescott archeological investigation site on Mawcett and credited them with finding the facility that yielded the information, with special mention to Bruce Priestly. The authors of both volumes were listed as Jenetta, Eliza, and Christa Carver.

  Within hours of the transmissions, news agencies from around the galaxy began calling Space Command SHQ for information and begging that copies be sent to them directly since each of the libraries would have to review the book before making it available. In the interest of public relations, Space Command made one electronic copy available to each news agency. They were authorized to make up to ten copies and distribute them as they saw fit, but only within their own news organizations.

  On Tuesday morning, Jenetta received notification that the Prometheus would depart at 1800 hours. She immediately called Eliza to inform her that the ship was leaving and that she'd see her when she got back. Eliza wished her luck, both women assuming that the previously unscheduled mission had somthing to do with rescuing Christa.

  At exactly 1800 hours, the Prometheus backed away from its docking pier and left orbit. Jenetta wasn't on the bridge since it wasn't her watch and she preferred to have as little contact as possible with Commander LaSalle.

  Ten minutes before her watch began, Jenetta reported to the bridge. Standing near the tactical console until 2359, she relieved Commander LaSalle. Other than a status report, no more than half a dozen words were spoken between them.

  There was little to do on the bridge with the course laid in, so Jenetta relaxed and engaged in light conversation with Lieutenant Kerrey or one of the other officers. She didn't need to have the captain confirm the destination once she saw the course. They were headed towards the area that she had speculated might be the location of the Raider base. At the ship's top speed it would take three and a half months to get there. Except for the four senior bridge officers, the crew believed they were headed for the Space Command outpost on Ulakkon-Three, a dismally intemperate mining planet that shipped ore to all parts of the known galaxy.

  After the Prometheus departed, Eliza felt abysmally alone. Although her food, clothing, and housing needs were being filled by Space Command, she didn't have a job, or anything to do that made her feel useful. With so much free time, Eliza filled her mornings by working out in the base gym. After having lunch in the officer's mess, she would normally spend her afternoons on the shopping concourse. Jenetta had always disliked shopping because she had too many more important things to do, but Eliza found delight in spending hours in the stores because it filled otherwise boring days. Evenings were usually devoted to reading.

  While having lunch in the officer's mess, a week after Jenetta left, Eliza heard a familiar voice say, "May I join you?" Eliza looked up and saw Zane Spence standing across from her, holding a tray that contained his lunch.

  "Of course, Zane. Please do."

  Zane grinned as he sat down and noticed the abundance of food on Eliza's tray. "I see that you share Jen's appetite."

  "We're still growing. We hope that we'll eventually need less. It's terrible being as hungry as a teenager all the time."

  "How are you making out otherwise, Eliza?"

  "Fine, Zane. I work out in the mornings, shop during the afternoons, and read at night. It's a wonderful life for a prisoner."

  "It can't be that bad. It surely beats the detention center on Raider-One that you talked about during the trial."

  "It's a step above that— but only a small step. Until my status is resolved, I can't travel to Earth to visit my mother, and I can't even get a job. I have the finest education available in the galaxy, and I can't make use of it."

  "Why not speak to the Admiral. He can probably arrange for you to work in the Astrophysics section until your status is settled."

  Eliza made a face. "And work for Lieutenant Kesliski again? No thanks, I'd almost rather be in the Raider detention center."

  Zane grinned. "How about writing another book about Dakistee? The last one looks like it's going to be a runaway best seller."

  "That's only because it's the first one. Within a year or two, most of the archeologists on the planet will be publishing."

  "All the more reason to do it now and beat them to print. You said at the dinner party that you still have copies of all the historical files downloaded from the computer at the facility."

  "Maybe you have something there. Even if it never gets published, at least it'll keep me busy."

  "Wonderful! Now, how about having dinner with me to celebrate the start of the new book?"

  "I'm here every evening at 1700 hours."

  "You know what I mean. Let's have dinner at Gregory's."

  "Tonight?"

  "Sure. I'll pick you up at 1800."

  "Um, okay, Zane."

  Zane phoned from the lobby of the BOQ when he arrived. Eliza stepped from the lift at the lobby level a few minutes later. She wore a Space Command
officer's uniform, without insignia, as she had been instructed to do by Admiral Holt when she first arrived at the station. It would have been her preference anyway since she had acquired Jenetta's general lack of interest in dresses and gowns.

  "Hi, Zane. Right on time. Did you make reservations at Gregory's?"

  "No, Gregory's was booked for a private party. I made reservations at Constantine's. It's a Greek restaurant on the concourse, just down from Gregory's."

  "I've passed it, but I haven't eaten there yet."

  "The food and service isn't quite as excellent as Gregory's, but it's still pretty good."

  "Great, I'm hungry," Eliza said, although she'd eaten several pieces of fruit just before Zane arrived at the BOQ so that she wouldn't still feel hollow after eating at the restaurant, nor embarrass herself or Zane by eating everything except the tablecloth.

  Walking to the restaurant rather than taking a cab, they still arrived before the reserved time. A long line of people waited for service, and Zane notified the hostess that his party was there and ready to be seated. After being informed that there would be a brief wait of perhaps ten minutes beyond the reserved time, Zane and Eliza found seats in the entrance area and waited to be called.

  The restaurant was generously ornamented with neon and metallic wall decorations, and its luminance was provided by the currently-fashionable floating Chembrite lights in various geometric shapes. The extensive use of robotics meant that only one employee, the hostess, was actually in view most of the time. A button to summon a waiter bot was on every table if service was needed after the meal order had been placed. Restrictions against use of expanded AI in robots with either mobility or wireless communication capability meant that the automatons were barely adequate for the task. Eliza much preferred the ambiance of Gregory's, with its full staff of real people.

  Eliza and Zane were finally seated about fifteen minutes after their reserved time. The hostess apologized, explaining that a large private party at a restaurant on the next block was limiting the normally available restaurant seating on the concourse.

  Despite the garish interior, the food at the restaurant was delicious, and the company even better. Eliza enjoyed her meal with Zane, even if he did call her Jen several times. There were no awkward moments. Since Eliza had all of Jenetta's memories, she could talk about the things that Zane and Jenetta had experienced together.

  Walking along the concourse after leaving the restaurant, they made two revolutions around the shops before leaving the level. Upon reaching the BOQ, Zane walked into the lobby with Eliza and tried to steer her to the area where Zane and Jenetta always shared a parting kiss.

  Eliza pulled away, saying, "No, Zane, I'm not Jen."

  "Aren't you? You're as much Jen as she is."

  "Not anymore. We're two separate people now." Eliza giggled suddenly. "That sounds so funny coming from me. I've been insisting all along that I am her and should have the same rights and privileges, and now I'm denying that I'm her. I guess that I haven't figured out just who I am yet, but I'm not going to cheat on Jen with her boyfriend, even if I do share her feelings for you."

  "I'm not her boyfriend; at least not steady. We're friends, and we date, but there's no agreement of exclusivity between us. I date other women when she's not around. I haven't made a point of throwing it in her face, but I haven't hidden it either. She's away for months and possibly years at a time. If she was permanently stationed on the base it'd be another matter entirely."

  "I see that I'll have to think about this some more. I know that you haven't come to any agreement, but she apparently feels a closer bond with you than you with her. I can tell you she'd be very hurt if she learned that we kissed."

  "Then we won't tell her."

  Eliza sighed. "I'm afraid I couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to do that. It's best if we don't kiss, then I won't have to keep it secret."

  "But you want to?"

  "As I said, I have all of Jen's feelings for you, so the answer is yes, I'd very much like to, just as she would. Thank you for dinner. Good night."

  Without even waiting for Zane to reply, Eliza turned and walked to the elevator. She gave the floor destination without turning around and she heard the doors slide close behind her. She didn't turn until the elevator began to rise.

  * * *

  Three months into their journey, the Prometheus' temporal envelope was dropped and the ship came to a complete stop. All outgoing com traffic was halted, except for encrypted communications with Space Command by the Captain and First Officer. Jenetta had spent her free time during the past months staying fit and studying everything available in the ship's extensive computer files about the Tsgardi. A meeting of all senior officers was scheduled for 1500 hours in the large conference room on the bridge deck.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen," Gavin said to start the meeting, "our first mission is to find and seize the Tsgardi ship that attacked Mawcett. The Intelligence Section has provided us with rough coordinates for a possible Raider base where they believe the ship is headed. We want to intercept it before it gets there. If we locate it, we'll jam their com traffic so they can't warn the base and then do whatever is necessary to stop them, but we want them intact, if possible. SCI believes they might have prisoners on board.

  "How are we supposed to stop them, Captain?" LaSalle asked.

  "We'll try to get them to surrender first. They can't outrun us and they're no match for our weapons. Failing that we'll target their temporal envelope generator, outboard power cells, and Sub-Light engines, in that order."

  "Stopping them, without destroying them if they choose to run, will require pinpoint accuracy, sir. It may be impossible."

  "I understand, Commander. It may not be possible to stop them intact, but stop them we shall."

  "Yes sir."

  "Once we intercept the Tsgardi ship, our mission is to search for and locate the Raider base. SCI believes they may be operating from a hollowed out asteroid, as was the case with the Raider-One base. We'll have to remain on our toes once we start searching because they could come streaming out like wasps from a bothered hive once we get close."

  "Are we on our own, Sir, or will more ships be coming to aid us?" Lieutenant Kerrey asked.

  "Right now we're on our own, but other ships are being diverted in support of this operation. Space Command informs me that this task force will comprise sixteen ships in total, unless something else comes up, and we should have the entire force assembled by the time we find the Raider base. There's only one other ship in the fleet that can match our speed, so right now we're far ahead of any other GSC ships proceeding to this area. We'll remain in this vicinity until we spot the Tsgardi ship, or until we decide that they must have chosen another destination. Any more questions?" When no one spoke, the Captain added, "Dismissed."

  * * *

  The Prometheus, joined after several weeks by an older battleship, the Bellona, remained in position for a full month. Named for the Roman goddess of war, the slightly smaller warship was a bit slower than the Prometheus, but was nevertheless a formidable warship. Like the Prometheus, it was the first ship constructed in its class so it had the honor of having the class designated with her name. Three heavy cruisers and ten destroyers also arrived during the weeks that Prometheus sat waiting, but there wasn't any sign of the Tsgardi ship, nor were any sightings reported by the arriving ships.

  The task force was now in place, except for one ship, and the captains of the Space Command vessels began to hold a series of meetings aboard the Prometheus to plan the assault on the, as yet unlocated, Raider base. Gavin, as the senior officer, was the designated task force commander.

  A week later than the last of the others, the final ship assigned to the battle-group arrived. Chiron, brother ship to Prometheus, had been traveling for months at top speed to join the task force at the RP. The might of this combined group made it the most powerful Space Command force ever assembled and little could stand in its way. Even three times th
e number in Raider ships should not prove a match for the task force, when the skill and training of the Space Command crews were factored in with the strengths of the warships.

  Jenetta was working in her office when a small group from the Chiron came aboard the Prometheus. When her computer interface announced that Captain Kanes was requesting admittance, she pushed the com screen down on the report she was reading, said "Come," and jumped to her feet. "Good afternoon, sir," she said as he entered. "I wasn't aware you were aboard."

  "Sit, please, Jen," Kanes said. "I just dropped by to say hello."

  "Yes sir," Jenetta said, sitting back down. Kanes sat down in the chair facing her desk.

  "I understand that the Prometheus hasn't had any luck in finding the Tsgardi vessel?"

  "Not as yet, sir."

  "If they were headed this way, they should have been spotted by now."

  "Yes sir, although they might have had mechanical problems that resulted in a delay."

  "We have to face the fact that they may have had a different destination entirely. I've kept the task force here for as long as I can. I have to release it now to Captain Gavin so it can begin searching for the Raider base. I'm sorry, Jen. I was really hoping that we would find your sister before we had to engage the Raiders."

  "Yes sir. Thank you. I understand, and I know that Christa will understand also; even if she's already inside the Raider base."

  Kanes looked down at the floor for a few seconds before making eye contact again. "We can't not attack the base if we locate it; not just to save one person, however special she might be. Hopefully, the Raiders will surrender without a fight, but I don't think so. Most know that murder and kidnapping charges will be preferred against them and that they face a possible lifetime of confinement at the penal colony on Saquer Major when the cases are adjudicated."