by Tom Dublin
Adina and Tc'aarlat stepped onto the bridge to find Jack already trying out his brand new captain's chair.
"It doesn't squeak at all!" he exclaimed, spinning round in a circle.
"I bet mine still does," moaned Tc'aarlat as he slumped into his own seat. "Not even a new cushion for my bad back!"
"I'm guessing this is where I sit," said Adina, taking a seat at the navigation console and examining the array of buttons and switches in front of her. "This doesn't look too complex."
"I'm glad you agree, Miss Choudhury," announced a familiar male voice.
The front screens lit up a brilliant white and a vast face smiled down at them.
The face of Captain Jack Marber.
Tc'aarlat squealed and fell off his seat, Mist flapping into the air and landed on the headrest of his battered old chair.
"How in the name of the entire universe, did you get up there?” he demanded.
Jack continued staring up at his own face. "That's not me!"
"Indeed I am not," confirmed the face. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the ICS Fortitude's new Entity Intelligence. My name is Solo."
"So, why do you look like Jack?" Adina queried.
"Well, Miss Choudhury," Solo began.
"Please, call me Adina."
Solo smiled. "Very kind, Adina. I was about to explain that my outward appearance is only an avatar. I can change it to reflect just about any life-form, human or otherwise."
"Then, why pick that ugly mug?" demanded Tc'aarlat as he climbed back into his seat.
Solo turned to look down at the Yollin. "I merely presumed Captain Marber's loyal crew would respect his particular physiognomy and respond positively to it."
Tc'aarlat sighed. "Not you as well. I'm not a member of the crew; I'm his partner."
Solo looked apologetic. "Oh, I'm so sorry," the E.I. responded. "I had no idea the two of you were romantically involved."
"Not like that!" yelled Tc'aarlat. "I'm his business partner!"
Jack gave a Adina a sly wink. "Maybe it would be best if you were to change your appearance, Solo," he suggested.
"Very well, Captain Marber-"
"And none of this 'Captain Marber' nonsense. You can call me Jack."
"Very well, Jack. How's this..."
The trio watched as Solo's face warped into the stern Yollin features of Tc'aarlat himself.
Mist let out a shriek and flapped hastily out of the bridge.
"Oh Lord, no!" croaked Tc'aarlat. "That's worse than before!"
"Try something else," said Jack. "Someone a bit less... immediate."
"OK," replied Solo. "What about this one?"
This time Solo's avatar melted and reformed into that of a middle-aged women with ash-blond hair. She had a full mouth and kind, blue eyes.
"Oh, I like her," said Adina.
"Fine by me," said the Yollin with a mild shrug. "Who is she?"
Jack stared up at the screen, an expression of surprise etched across his features. He swallowed hard. "Where the hell did you get that face?"
"Do you know her?" Adina asked.
Jack continued gazing up at the woman on the screen, nodding. "I did once," he replied. "I haven't seen her for a very long time, though."
Tc'aarlat slapped Jack on the shoulder, his mandibles twitching. "What's wrong, big man?" he asked, chuckling. "Your secret past catching up with you, is it? Someone you hooked up with who you'd rather forget?"
The Yollin smiled to himself. He'd been waiting for an opportunity to engage in some of the playful banter he'd witnessed in bars and at sporting events ever since the humans had arrived.
This was his chance to try out what he'd learned about male repartee.
"I haven't met too many human women," the Yollin continued, nodding towards Solo's new visage, "but that one looks like she's a bit of a goer, if you know what I mean?"
He glanced over at Adina and attempted to wink - something he'd often seen humans do when they were partaking in similar conversations. Yollin eyelids, however, weren't quite as supple as those possessed by Earth folk and he wasn't quite able to pull off the move.
To Adina, it looked as though Tc'aarlat was attempting to suck one of his eyeballs deep inside his own skull.
Jack sat silently as the Yollin continued with his teasing.
"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Jack. Lots of men like spending time with older women. They may not have the sexual energy and inventive imagination of the latest models, but what they lack in raw passion, they more than make up for with experience."
Adina did her best to hide her smile. "Tc'aarlat, I don't think-"
"I bet that one taught you a few tricks you hadn't seen before, didn't she? They really go to town, these older types. Some of them haven't seen action for quite a while, so they're not only eager, they're grateful as well."
He nudged Jack with his elbow. "Come on then, player! Tell us what you got up to with this little minx!"
Jack sighed. "Well, quite often there was food involved..."
"Ooh, saucy! Liked to make you breakfast, did she?"
"And lunch, and dinner," finished Jack. "Mainly because that little 'minx', as you refer to her, is my mother."
Tc'aarlat's face froze, his mandibles wide. Slowly, he turned to look up at Solo, who was smiling warmly down at the trio.
"And a lovely, kind woman she looks, too," croaked Tc'aarlat, turning towards the bridge door in the hope of a quick exit.
But, before he could scurry away and bury his head somewhere cold and dark, Nathan reappeared. And he didn't look happy.
"Is everything OK?" asked Adina.
Nathan shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said. "A political situation we've been keeping a close watch on has taken an unexpected turn. We're going to have to bring our brief time together to an abrupt end."
Jack's expression hardened. "You mean?"
"I do," said Nathan. "It's time for a real mission."
13
Alma Nine, Taron City, Government Building, Front Steps
A gentle breeze ruffled the upright strands of silver hair in Saf Tah's mohawk as he stepped up to the podium and faced the hushed representatives of the press. The usually bright white lights woven into his hairstyle had been swapped for more muted, purple bulbs to reflect this more somber time of grieving.
Although some of the keener eyed reporters had already noted that the Presidential seal on the front of the podium was now ringed in Saf Tah's political colors of red and green, as opposed to Tor Val's navy and lemon.
"Ladies and gentleman," Saf Tah began once he was certain all of the cameras from the major networks had begun their live broadcasts, "I am speaking to you from outside Alma Nine's government buildings, although I truly wish that I wasn't."
He paused to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.
"As you will no doubt be aware, last night our cherished President, Tor Val, was tragically killed in a horrific automobile collision, along with her driver, Gan Roj."
Near the center of the small group gathered behind the Vice President, Bay Don pulled Tor Val's two crying daughters in closer, holding one in each arm as tightly as she could.
Saf Tah continued...
"Tor Val's death leaves a terrible hole in not just the lives of her family and close friends - among which I was honored to be counted - but in the life of every citizen of this world, whether they are one of the brave settlers who came here from Malatia all those years ago, or among the very first generation to be born on Alma Nine."
Mol Gat ticked two of the items off the checklist in his notepad. Saf Tah was sticking to the speech he and his fellow aide had prepared, and was hitting all the key points. If he kept this up, there wouldn't be a dry eye on the entire planet.
"Investigations are underway as to the cause of the fatal crash," Saf Tah promised, eyes flicking from one camera lens to the next, "although at this stage, the incident appears to have been nothing more than a blameless accident."
Tor Val's head of security, Hip Win, stood motionless near the back of the group behind the Vice President, his mirrored sunglasses betraying nothing of his current emotion.
"No matter what the cause of the tragedy, the result is the same: Tor Val has left us and, like her husband on our journey to this world, we must prepare for her to undergo The Journey Back."
The press's sensitive microphones picked up a devastated sob from Tor Val's older daughter, Mas Val.
"It is with this dreadful news in mind that I hereby instigate an official three-day period of mourning, starting tomorrow. This period will end following Tor Val's funeral on the third day."
The assembled guests and journalists greeted this announcement with a polite round of applause. Saf Tah waited for silence before continuing.
"Tor Val's body pod will be launched from Taron Park, from where it will be guided into the depths of the Ordon Nebula, where she will be returned to the star dust from whence she came, and reunited in death with her husband, Lad Val."
A second smattering of applause did little to drown out the sound of crying from Tor Val's two daughters.
This caught Saf Tah's attention, and he turned, reaching out his hands towards the girls. Both turned towards Bay Don, as though asking for permission to accept the gesture, to which their friend simply nodded.
Ran Val was the first to step forward and take one of the proffered hands, closely followed by her sister. Saf Tah drew them close and wrapped his arms around them. The girls buried their faces against his shoulders.
Saf Tah held the embrace while cameras clicked around him like the sound of early evening insects. As the volley of photographic sounds faded away, he turned back to the microphones, eyes red, and spoke once more.
"These are two of the bravest, most caring young ladies you will ever meet," he proclaimed.
Jus Clo quickly looked up from the tablet on which he'd been closely following the Vice President's words.
"Bistok's bollocks!" He hissed to the figure standing beside him. "He's off script!"
Mol Gat let out a series of strangled coughs as he tried to attract his boss's attention, but it didn't work. Instead, Bay Don reached out to hand the aide a tissue, forcing him to have to pretend to blow his nose.
"I urge everyone," Saf Tah continued, "not just the media, to give Tor Val's brave, brave daughters..."
He paused, searching through his memory for either one of the girls' names, but came up blank.
"...here the space they need over the coming days and allow them to grieve in private."
This received another short round of applause, much to the relief of the Vice President's aides.
"Phew!" Mol Gat wiped his brow with the tissue, before realizing he had just faked filling it with the contents of his nostrils. He quickly stuffed the tissue into his pocket, hoping the TV cameras and photographers hadn't spotted his blunder.
Jus Clo rubbed his thumbnails with his fingertips - the traditional Malatian gesture for luck - and hoped the final part of Saf Tah's speech would be as well received.
"In my own personal effort to help Tor Val's distraught daughters as much as I can," said Saf Tah, "I have decided to remove a pressing burden from their young shoulders; one which must be weighing extremely heavily at this moment in time."
The two girls glanced at each other, confused.
Saf Tah cleared his throat, and spoke the final words of his address.
"An hour ago, I issued a decree which amends the constitution of Alma Nine, allowing me to take on the role of President with immediate effect, instead of expecting either of these poor, grieving girls to struggle to fill such an important position."
The podium lit up as dozens of camera flashes fired at once. In news studios all across the planet, TV anchors and political commentators began to dissect Saf Tah's announcement.
Outside the government building, Bay Don stepped forward to take the arms of Tor Val's daughters and lead them away from the urgently shouted questions of the reporters:
Is such a decree legal, Mr Vice President?
Can you really just announce yourself as Alma Nine's new ruler?
Surely tradition dictates the presidency must stay within Tor Val's immediate family?
Saf Tah, why aren't you calling an election?
How do you girls feel about what the Vice President has done?
As Bay Don and her clearly distressed charges disappeared inside the building, Mol Gat stepped forward, hands raised. "The, um... Vice President will be happy to answer any, um... questions you may have at a later-"
Boom!
Suddenly, the atmosphere exploded with a deafening crash of thunder, and streaks of forked lightning shot across the sky like tongues of white-hot fire. Rain began to pour down, quickly drenching everyone at the press conference, causing cameramen and sound operators scattering in a vain attempt to get their delicate equipment under some sort of cover.
Saf Tah gazed up at the banks of thick black clouds, the rain causing his mohawk to wilt.
"Why didn't you tell me we were due for a thunderstorm?!" he demanded.
Jus Clo flicked through the weather promise app on his tablet. "We're not, sir! This is completely unexpected!"
Boom!
Mol Gat covered his ears with his palms as another burst of thunder detonated directly above their heads.
Torrential rain began to flood the street, the water level rising so quickly that fleeing reporters' feet kicked up waves of spray as they dashed back to their respective vehicles.
"No!" bellowed Saf Tah. He and his two aides were now the only figures left out in the open. "Storms cannot be unexpected. We have the most advanced weather control system in the galaxy!"
Mol Gat shrugged. "Um..."
Before he could say anything else, another spear of lighting crackled out of the rapidly darkening sky and struck the wooden presidential podium, causing it to erupt into flames.
The two aides grabbed their boss and dragged him away from the burning lectern, but not quite quickly enough. A spark of fizzing electricity still playing around the metallic bodies of the abandoned press microphones arced through the air, striking the chain of purple lights woven into the Vice President's hair.
There was a bright flash and a noise that sounded like WUMPH! as Saf Tah's scalp was instantly consumed with fire.
Thinking quickly, Mol Gat threw himself at the Vice President, pushing him to the ground and plunging his flaming head into the deepest puddle within reach. The hairy blaze was extinguished with a hiss.
Jus Clo momentarily froze, horror etched across his features as he watched a stream of bubbles escape from Saf Tah's submerged mouth and nose. Then, pulling Mol Gat away from their employer, he gripped what little remained of the Vice President's hair and heaved his head out of the water.
Saf Tah gasped repeatedly, gulping down lungfuls of freezing cold air.
Jus Clo stretched out a hand, aiming to help the VP back to his feet, but Saf Tah scuttled backwards through the downpour, fearful that his aide might cause him further harm.
A large shadow fell over them both. Saf Tah and Jus Clo looked up to find the imposing figure of Hip Win standing before them, his bald scalp slick from the rain.
Thrusting out a hand, he shoved Jus Clo backwards, sending him tumbling into the flat flowing river that had now taken over the street. With his other hand, he lifted the stunned and disoriented Vice President, threw him over one of his vast shoulders, then stomped in the direction of the building's entrance doors and safety.
Bobbing from the huge security operative's giant strides, Saf Tah raised his frazzled head and hissed a final command to his two sodden assistants.
"Find out what happened to weather control system RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"
ICS Fortitude, Bridge
"OK," said Jack, reaching out for a bank of switches slightly to his left. "Are we ready to release the dockside clamps?" His fingers hovered over the controls.
"Excuse me, C
aptain Marber," Solo interrupted. "Would you like me to handle the departure from here?"
Jack looked up at the face still filling the main view screen. "You can do that, even with this old tech?"
Solo nodded. "The entire bridge has been completely refitted," she said. "Then, the old control panels were put back in place and connected to the new technology underneath. I can, should you so wish, completely take-over the docking and un-docking process."
The E.I.'s face faded from the screens, replaced with the view of space outside the ship.
"Oh," said Jack, dropping his hands into his lap. "Er... you do that, then."
"Of course, Captain."
It was now just over two hours since Nathan had told the team they were to prepare for a swift departure. Jack and Tc'aarlat only needed a few minutes to collect their meager belongings from their respective rooms, but Adina had requested extra time as she had to head back to her apartment and pack, with a little help from Ecaterina.
It would also be a useful opportunity for Ecaterina to present Adina with what advice she could about coping with her wolf side. Ideally, the pair would have time to work through various techniques, but the urgency of the mission meant these would have to wait until the team returned.
She also wanted to pay another brief visit to her Uncle Yousuf. She didn't know when she'd next be returning home, and whether he would be able to remember who she was when that day came.
And, of course, the vast cargo bays of the ICS Fortitude had to be loaded by teams of dock workers under Nathan's command, although neither Jack nor Tc'aarlat had yet been told what the freight consisted of.
Nathan said he would explain everything once they had set off on their journey.
Jack knitted his fingers together and looked from Tc'aarlat to Adina and back again. "Right then," he said. "I guess I'll just sit here and... supervise."
"And I may as well go and unpack," said Adina. She grabbed the handles of two large suitcases and wheeled them out through the bridge doors and along the corridor beyond.
Two minutes later, she poked her head back in.
"Er... any idea where I live now?"