Forever Series 4: The Forever Quest

by Craig Robertson

  By the time we reached Balmorulam a year later, she’d just given birth to our daughter, Gallenda. That was Kayla’s grandmother’s name. It was unreal. I, of all people, was becoming a normal person, for the first time ever. Jane and I had an accidental kid. I was a happy stepfather to Sapale’s offspring, but here I was with a beautiful baby girl to match her beautiful mother. I was a family man. Davis had so much fun at my expense. He knew how happy I was. Therefore, he kept pinching me. He said I was so happy I had to pinch myself, and he was glad to help.

  The three of us went right to Wrath. No need to go the planet itself. Davis and Kayla were duly impressed with Wrath. I attached Shearwater to her mountings and insisted we get going at once. I needed to go to Azsuram first. It wouldn’t be a long stay, but I had to see my family. I wanted to show off my girls too.

  Davis was well received once everybody understood he was the person who destroyed the Berrillian fleet. Plus, as he was me, he was family too. I took Jon to see Toño. I’d alerted both men the other was present. When we entered the lab, Jon was very standoffish, hanging back like he didn’t want to be there. I took Kayla to see Kelldrek. I wanted her to see a Berrillian in the flesh. She left Gallenda with Toño, which was a good idea. The poor kid’d have nightmares the rest of her life if she saw that big cat roar.

  We weren’t gone five minutes, but when we came back, Jon and Toño were hugging like the long-lost brothers they were.

  “God, I missed you, Doc,” Jon said.

  “I missed you too.”

  Wait, how could he miss him? I was here the whole time. Oh, Toño was being the physician and comforting Jon. Okay. I was getting confused.

  Kayla took Gallenda from Toño’s arms, and I don’t think he even noticed.

  “To know there’s still one link to the real past, to my past. You don’t know what that means, Doc.”

  They hugged harder.

  “I will always be here, and you are always welcome. Once you have dispatched the Berrillians, I insist you return and spend some time here. We must talk.”

  “I’d love to, Doc. I will.”

  “Jon, I’m curious. I stand here today, so I’m not concerned. But you know my mind always wanders. In your time line, what becomes of me? Did you and I travel together after the Earth was lost? I assume I became an android, as politics never change. Did—”

  “You died, Doc.” Jon stopped a second. “You never made it off Earth.” He lowered his head sadly. “At the end, when they were pounding us good, Alexandra, Sean, and you jumped in an Ark ship and made a run for it. You…you never cleared the atmosphere. I think they hit you with a nuke. Whatever it was didn’t leave a trace.”

  “Oh. Oh my. Now I’m not so certain I should have asked. I’ll probably need to administer Freudian analysis to myself for the next seven years.” He sort of giggled, but it didn’t sound like too funny a response.

  Next, I had to hook up with the worldship fleet. Yeah, I got to tell them, yet again, that they were in more trouble than they could handle and that their survival would be against all odds, if they were lucky.

  “Who the hell is this Varrank Simzle?” asked Amanda, rubbing her temples.

  “Just another bad guy looking to make a profit in a tolerant universe. He has a fleet of warships, but he’s no real threat. Somehow he’s allied with the Berrillians. It’s them I’m worried about.”

  “Tell me about it,” she replied harshly.

  Then she looked up again at Jon. “And tell me again, you’re…?”

  “Ms. Walker,” said Jon, “you heard Jon explain who I am. I’m here to help.”

  “So, if I call you Jon,” she pointed to me, “what should I call you? And don’t…” she added quickly, “don’t say late for dinner because I’m not in the mood.”

  Jon turned to me. “Wow, she knows us pretty well.”

  I nodded that I agreed.

  “For the time being, call me Davis,” Jon said.

  “Why…”

  He raised a waving hand, indicating she shouldn’t ask.

  She accepted his good advice. “So when is doom due?” she asked glumly.

  “Three, maybe four months,” I replied.

  “And do we stand any better a chance this time?”

  “It depends…” I started to say.

  Davis cut me off. “It depends on a good deal of factors. We’re cautiously optimistic.”

  “That we’ll do better or that we’ll be successful?”

  He looked at me and pointed to Mandy. “She’s sharp.”

  Her expression suggested one of us had better answer that question.

  “Mandy,” I said, “we’ll be fine. It’ll be tough, but we’ll survive.” Now I just needed to believe that myself.

  “So, what is our combined plan?” asked Admiral Katashi Matsumoto. He’d been promoted to command all worldship defenses.

  “I’ve fought them many times, Admiral. You and I will talk at length after this meeting.” Davis and I had agreed on that beforehand. He did know the enemy well. Plus, I figured Katashi might misinterpret Davis’s general world-weariness as him being more proper than me.

  “Fine. You two go rub your heads together and summon a war genie. Jon and I will stay and chat.”

  Gulp. She already knew about Kayla and Gallenda. This promised to be interesting.

  “So, before I go on, congratulations on your wife and baby. Gallenda is her name, I believe?”

  “Yes. Cute as a box full of buttons. The best part is she looks mostly like her mom.”

  “I’m happy for you. Least you say something suggesting the contrary, I truly am. I know a lot of time has passed. Life happens. I get that.”

  “Thank you, Mandy. How’re you doing?”

  “I’m split right down the center on that one. Politically, I’ve never been better. I get more than my share of pushback and headaches, but things have come together nicely.”

  “Which leaves only personally.”

  “Which sucks. No wait, if it did… forget it. Lousy attempt at a bad pun. Personally, you could politely say I was on hold.”

  “Gal like you? Won’t last long.”

  “You know you’re the only one whose eyes don’t get clawed out for referring to me as a gal?”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  She growled softly. “Okay, old friend, it’s just you and me alone in a room. Are we dead meat?”

  “If I had to pick a winner and place a bet, I wouldn’t.”

  “I suspected as much. And this Davis/other you guy. Is he okay? Can I trust him?”

  “That I can guarantee. His commitment the saving humanity is more ferocious than a Berrillian mother defending her cubs.”

  “That’s reassuring. In that case, I’ll give him lots of responsibility. Will he be with us or with you?”

  “Probably here, but no one tells him anything. We’ll have to play it by ear,” I said.

  “Fifteen centuries on your own does beget an independent spirit I guess. Well, I’ve got a to alert all the governors and then arrange for a summit on Exeter. You be around a while?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Dinner? With you and the family, of course.”

  “We’d love to.”

  “Then dinner at six it is.”

  The next morning, I took Kayla to look for Karnean. She wanted to make certain he was okay. They had arranged to communicate through an AI on Pallolo. Sure enough, he’d left notice where he was headed in his new ship. After a couple jumps, we caught up with Kayla mid-flight on some shady mission. For the first time, I saw Karnean happy, the normal happy, not the psycho happy he did way too well. He was thrilled to be an uncle. I think he was even glad to see me. He fell so completely in love with Wrath I wanted to get them a hotel room and a box of condoms. I was glad he was jealous. I know, that speaks poorly for my character, but there you have it. He and I had history.

  We stayed with Karnean a couple days, catching up, but then it was time to
go. I wanted to pick up Toño and join the worldships. We had a meeting with Carlos De La Frontera. Then, unless a better plan presented itself, I’d start hounding the Berrillians in warp space.

  “So, the old team is back together,” said Carlos as he sat down.

  “With an even older new addition,” added Toño, as he pointed at Davis.

  “As one who has lived with his clone, I shall not be perturbed by the double vision of Jon,” Carlos responded.

  “He’s an android. He used to work with his original until the president killed him,” I said, filling Davis in. From the look on his face, I think I did not achieve helpful clarity.

  “So they don’t explode if you let the original and android meet?” Davis asked Toño pointedly.

  “In my defense, at the time—”

  Davis cut Toño off. “Just messing with you, Doc.”

  “This is a meeting of the war council, gentlemen, not the Rotary Club.” That would be the ever serious Katashi. “I suggest we focus on saving our species and dispense with the fraternal raillery.”

  “Sound advice,” said Davis. I knew he’d mesh with Katashi.

  “As head of this ad hoc committee,” said Katashi, “I will open the floor for discussion. Davis, if you will, please give us your best impression as to what we will face. We can proceed from there.”

  “Based on what I learned in my timeline, we are witnessing the reemergence of the Berrillian Empire. They started their invasion at roughly this point in time. Assuming history is repeating itself, we’re in for a real struggle.

  “The Berrillians retreated to a sector a few thousand light-years from here after their defeat at the hands of the Deavoriath. They conquered that area, focused on advancing technology, and multiplied. Mostly, they multiplied. I don’t wish to be overly graphic, but the brutal carnivores devastated planet after planet. Now they number in the trillions. Their ships are more numerous than the stars in the sky. They come in waves, each reporting back to the next how to better achieve victory. Each wave is understood to be expendable. All that matters to them is that the empire triumph and expand.”

  “You don’t paint a very promising picture,” said Katashi.

  “I’m certain I understate the case. There is no surrender, negotiation, or quarter with them. War and death are the same word in their language. In my time, they overran the galaxy and darkness reigned.”

  “Okay,” I said, “on that pleasant note, I’d like to remind everyone that we don’t have to dispose of the entire empire just yet, just this next wave.”

  “Might it be a smaller group since they’re cooperating with Varrank?” asked Carlos.

  “Possibly. They’re not above a side engagement with a smaller force. The only way to know is to see if there is a reserve force lying in wait further behind the fleet approaching us.” Davis was grim. “Wrath can take a few stabs at recon, but we’ll probably not know until they hit us.”

  “A limited force would be something I expect we could rebuff,” said Katashi. Something on the scale of the last incursion would be problematic.”

  That was putting it mildly.

  “I see advantages in tightening up the fleet’s formation and for keeping it spread out,” the admiral said. “Your thoughts, gentlemen.”

  “We don’t have enough ships to fend off a concentrated attack if we’re spread to hell and gone,” I replied.

  “But,” said Toño, “a tightly grouped fleet could be heavily targeted.”

  “Perhaps we try and circle back to outflank the Berrillians?” asked Carlos. “I doubt they’d expect such an assault.”

  “Tight, but not too tight. That’s my advice,” said Davis. “A feint is unlikely to matter. They fight all-out and wouldn’t hesitate to fire on their own ships if caught in a crossfire.”

  “Very well,” said Katashi. “I will take your words under advisement. Any last thoughts before we adjourn?”

  There were none. There wasn’t much to say when the options were so limited and obvious.

  So, I was off to cripple Havibibo’s fleet again. I went alone, except for Al, as before. The main difference was that this time I took as many infinity charges as I could hold. They seemed to be the most effective weapons last time. I had one stop to make first. I didn’t discuss it with anyone, because I’d only draw criticism. Plus, I didn’t need anyone’s permission.

  I walked into Kymee’s work area on a typical, bleak, colorless day. Tourism to Oowaoa was never going to catch on. He wasn’t there. I wandered through his quarters but didn’t find him. I guess he could have been shopping or out to dinner. I walked back to Wrath.

  “Kymee’s not in his shop. Do you know where he is?”

  “Yes, Form.”

  Not the Al-shuffle again. “Where is he?”

  “Not far. This is the main vortex landing dock. The maintenance facilities for my kind are a few meters north. He is there.”

  Cryptic jerk.

  I found Kymee. He looked like a grease monkey. He was on his back on a roller board under a large metal sheet. It might have been the makings of a vortex. Why he’d be making one was beyond me. Why build the ultimate traveling machine if you refused to leave home?

  “Yo, Kymee,” I called out.

  For under the metal came, “Jon. There you are. I’ve been expecting you.”

  Hmm. “Expecting me since I landed or since when?”

  “Yes,” he said, as he slid out and stood.

  “You’re as bad as me,” I chided. We bumped shoulders.

  “No. You’re as bad as me.” He patted his chest. “I’m the senior member of this duo.”

  “You are well?” I asked.

  “Couldn’t be different,” he replied.

  “I know that tattletale Wrath told you I was coming and why.”

  “He did. Hard to break him of his baser habits. He’s always been a chatterbox.”

  “He’s wrong.”

  “Oh? Don’t let him hear that. He might explode, literally.”

  “I didn’t come to ask for your help.”

  “Unexpected. So, why are you here?”

  “Two things. I want to show you this.”

  I grabbed my handheld and shot a holo of Kayla holding Gallenda in the air in front of him.

  He studied the image with interest and, I suspect, a little awe. “Is that supposed to make me feel guilty?” he said, narrowing his eyes.

  “No, you clunk. It’s to show you my two girls. They’re my pride and joy. Aren’t they perfect?”

  “Yes, they are. I’m pleased you’re so happy.” Serious again, he asked, “And the other matter?”

  “I wanted to say goodbye.”

  “Goodbye, as in see you later, or as in never see you again because I’m dead?”

  “You’re not making this any easier.”

  “Was I supposed to? You didn’t specifically ask me to, did you?”

  “Goodbye, as in I love you and I won’t be seeing you again.”

  “Is it something I said?” He smiled.

  “No. It’s because I can’t imagine I’ll survive. I’m leaving to take potshots at the Berrillians in warp space, but I don’t think I’ll do much more than piss them off and get my ass killed.”

  “You can’t piss them off because they’re never not pissed off. Worst species I ever met.”

  We chuckled a bit over that.

  “I think you’ll do just fine,” he said, resting a hand on my shoulder.

  “I will. The issue is fine as defined by whom?”

  “By all witnesses.”

  “I’m glad you’re so confident. I only wish you could give me a transfusion of yours.”

  “I’ll work on that, but I must say, it sounds gross.”

  “So,” I held out my hand to shake, “goodbye, old friend.” We shook long and hard. “Oh, and when you see Yibitriander, would you pass along a message to him?”

  “Certainly.”

  I farted, loud and extremely wet. “That’s the ful
l message. Would you like me to repeat it?”

  All three hands flew up. “No, that will not be necessary. I’ll recall your sentiments for longer than I care to without another prompt.”

  I turned and started walking away.

  He cleared his throat. Never hear one of them do that. I imagine they had to clear their throats about as much as I did.

  “Huh?” I asked, turning my head.

  “Did you want your present?”

  “Is it my birthday?”

  “It is now.” He smiled again.

  “Where is it? I don’t see a very large box with a ribbon.”

  “It is not boxable. It is an appropriate size, but it would, err, affect the box unfavorably.”

  “You got me a stripper in a box? Dude, that’s so cool.”

  “You’re not getting warmer. It’s a small attachment for Wrath.”

  “Are you sure it’s not a stripper in a box?”

  “Next time you come, I’ll try and arrange one. For now, you’ll have to settle for a quantum decoupler.”

  “Okay, but that’s my second choice. Just so you know.”

  “What is, Jon then asked, a quantum decoupler?” said Kymee sternly.

  “I know what a QD is. Shucks, everybody does. It takes two quantum thingies and de…you know, decouples them.” I put my fists side to side and split them horizontally apart.

  “Incorrigible ingrate.”

  “Okay, what’s a QD?”

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s a device I invented that decouples subatomic particles at a distance. It is based somewhat on that fantastic membrane of yours.” He rubbed his chin. “I wish I knew who came up with that. It’s brilliant.”

  “Back to my new QD.”

  “Yes. What it does is separate quarks in protons. All three, to be specific. I’m still working on neutrons. Sorry.”

  “Kymee, my Ph.D. in physics is from Cal Berkeley, not Oowaoa U, but that’s not possible.”

  “Oh, it’s possible. It just takes a lot of energy.”

  “Yeah, like more energy than there is.”

  “Not really. And they only need to separate a tiny bit and can then fall back together, happy as a clam.”