Arnica

by I. Christie

  noticed a familiar olive green pant leg near the pod. Impatiently she waited as the lid lifted higher revealing a woman in a captain's uniform from her Sister guild house.

  However the face was a surprise.

  "Lieutenant Malchi…Captain! What in Helga's moon has been happening, Bian?"

  her voice croaked. "How long have I been in this thing?"

  "Hello, Colonel Zohra," she drawled as she handed her a liquid dispenser. "We're about three months from our destination, Arnica. You've been traveling for about four stan months before we caught up with you. We've been in space for about two months ourselves. We're aboard Catching Butterflies, that new class MP ship the Argonauts have been working on for the Collective. She's faster, bigger, and has a lot of advanced goodies in weaponry and science. And…I got myself a promotion by volunteering to head the security team to apprehend Alan's metrasoldiers."

  JG snorted, knowing that was not an easy task. They were implanted with a biochip that would kill them if they were captured. It was Alan Fermin's method of preventing any of his soldiers from deserting, as if they could.

  "Anything else I need to know?" Experimentally she moved her limbs and then weakly swung out of the pod with the captain's assistance. Her intuition for danger was telling her that there was a reason Bian Malchi was waking her.

  "Butterfly activated four of us out of our pods early. She was programmed to locate you, bring you aboard, and wake up key officers to make certain you were okay."

  "However…" she prodded.

  Malchi nodded with a grin. "The first problem, Captain Onry found in the ship's logs disturbing contacts with other ships that have been keeping track of our progress.

  The second problem, Butterfly got excited because three ships running hot got too close to be friendly. So far, no shots across our bow. One of them is registered as a freighter but doesn't have the body for it. The captain also found that someone had downloaded something into Butterfly's databanks while we were in our sleep chambers."

  "If it takes five months in this war ship to get to Arnica, why in Helga's moon are you in sleep pods? Blasted civilians idea, I'll bet. So, what's my part in all of this?"

  "Well, first off, your presence is not for crew knowledge."

  "Anonymity has its advantages." JG's lips curled into a smile. "Do you want me to check the ship out on the sly? Or, perhaps, raid the food stores and leave crumbs about?"

  "We don't need a snipe hunt to keep fit. You've been inactive too long, JG." They both shared a laugh, then Bian added, "It's an order from high up. No reason given."

  JG's nodded. She spent nearly her entire military life in covert assignments where reasons were not given for orders handed down, and did not take offense at this one.

  Besides, she had her own orders, and so far Bian made no mention of them being changed. That in itself was a relief because if her destination had been changed she would demand a reason and decide whether disobeying orders would be her next course of action. Working covert operations for such a long time gave her little contact with superior officers and more faith in operating under her own instincts.

  Her eyes moved to look about her, wondering what it was going to be like hibernating in the yacht.

  "So, how do you like your new toy?" Bian's eyes rested where JG's came to a stop.

  "What is it, besides a small space vessel?" JG moved away from the sleep pod to look over a newer and sleeker craft that was in Rouster's freight bay.

  "It's the new shuttle design, made for multipurpose flights. Carries two easily or depending on the species, five, if you want a crowd. Very maneuverable and has some armaments that will put a dent in a larger craft. It can be remotely called for; has nutritional foods for most known species for about a year if you don't eat much, and last but not least, it's yours to play with."

  "I'm testing it?"

  "You'll be the first to try it out in RT. It's designed for private yachts like Rouster instead of having to use the life pod for shuttle work where space is limited."

  "Yes. I wasn't looking forward to landing on Arnica stuffed in a lifepod."

  "Just in case we get sidetracked, and have to drop out of the stream, we'll slide Rouster out so you can go before us to rendezvous with Emperor's Last Chance. As soon as you hail them, a coded communiqué from Captain Onre will give General Mcarn information on the situation here, and back home. Between you and me, the envoy on Emperor's and a small group of agents for a private interest group, the DeLans, infiltrated the crew of Emperor with the intention of not allowing anyone but their representative to deal with the authorities on Arnica . The envoy sabatoged the chance of any meaningful dialogue between Emperors and the authorities on Arnica as well as compromised the crews neutrality by fermenting dissention among the various groups within the crew. A seized document from a DeLan courier outlined their intention to take over Arnica through destabilizing the world and having their embedded agents take over."

  "Helgas moon. We should have finished that job on Starl and just sterilized the whole DeLan family or even better sent the Black Rose to clean them out. So what are they doing? Taking over the Emperor and using her weapons to blackmail the planet?"

  "Too late for regrets regarding that family. Stored DNA to ensure their line doesn't die out," Bian said. "Besides, the DeLan family is too entrenched in bedroom politics to eliminate their gene contamination completely. One of Catching Butterflies'

  missions is to round up the envoy and his friends and make sure they are secured for transportation back to Committee space on a SEC ship. General Mcarn has been identifying everyone and who he misses the Koan will find. Butterflies will also assist Emperor with the completion of her assignments. What else Butterflies has to do I'm not privy to, but my assignment is to work with the local authorities to remove the MS.

  There's another SEC ship just for them in this cargo bay."

  JG nodded, pleased that the metrasoldiers would not be housed on a ship with a civilian crew. If by fluke the soldiers escaped, it would be better for all that it was aboard a SEC ship. They were one directional with no stops planned, or life support other than to the sleep chambers. If attacked, they had no defense shields or safeties for the occupants.

  SEC ships were secured ships for the transportation of dangerous persons. Because all the life forms were in sleep chambers, the speed of the ship was faster than conventional ships. However, no telling what political climate the prisoners would be returning to.

  "Your mother told me that you were on a much needed vacation and I was not to enlist your help." Bian's voice brought her back to the present.

  "When mother says something like that, she's up to something," JG grumbled.

  "Maybe she just knows you too well." Bian grinned, "And your penchant for finding trouble."

  "Not me, but if it happens to be where I am, I'm not one to back down. So, what is different about this group on Catching Butterflies?" Politics has to be stirring the personnel placement on this ship too, she thought.

  "You have half the crew that are shamans, empaths, telepaths, monks and whatevers. The rest of the crew are familiar and comfortable working around these mantes. Half the crew is civilian working in specialized fields…so specialized that it's not talked about." Bian looked around them to make sure no one else was around.

  "Someone on Arnica telepathically contacted the monks of Hela. Communication over three space sectors in an instant. That my friend, is the big reason why this handpicked crew was formed. There isn't anyone aboard that hasn't been put through a fine sieve and studied the culture we are heading to. I downloaded the information into your data base. The only group that's a pain to get around…is the koan, but I'm sure you'll find a way. They're the psychic bureaucrats of one group. Always got to have them along."

  "How did you get here then?" JG joked.

  "Your mother volunteered me, but I would have pulled every string I have to get the assignment. Lucky for me that I know some influential people."
She grinned at the pale face in front of her. "My order," she continued seriously, deciding JG needed rest so she moved on, "is to meet with a Commander O'Malley on an island called Ilo and work out a plan to remove the MS according to their rules. Your mother said your assignment is to find Lady Alexandra Montran and assist her in dealing with the colonists the DeLan family sent out here. Colonel, you really need to study up on this culture. It's…different.

  That's why what the DeLan family has done is criminal, and they'll be taken before the galaxy court. They sent four colonies that were made up of the outlawed group, the Boyot. The authorities on Arnica and the Coalition asked that Commander Montran, Lady Alexandra, handle the colonist problem since she's an empath."

  "What has that got to do with anything?" JG was suddenly getting an uncomfortable feeling about Arnica and the crew of Catching Butterflies. "Read the briefing," she reminded herself out loud.

  "Right you are, Colonel." Bian smiled. "But in a capsule, the planet authorities are very sensitive to how outlaws are handled." She turned at the beep. Looking down at the sensor attached to the hull it now read the tensile strength was back to normal. "Ahh.

  Good the repairs are finished. Your ship has been upgraded so that even Alan won't recognize her. There was some hull damage on the exterior, which was repaired. A coat

  of silitrion was added so the hull won't over heat at the higher speeds your engine has been upgraded to."

  JG noticeably perked up. Rubbing her hands in anticipation, she asked, "Just how fast can she go?"

  "You can travel eight gees for maybe a day without you or the ship running into trouble; cruise speed is six, up from the normal four gee." She nodded smiling at JG's soft whistle of appreciation. "We've also changed the encryptions to your system so you won't have to worry about Alan's tampering. While you were waking up, I noticed the SP had been set for Alan's bios."

  "No wonder I feel like I've been out drinking all night. We set it for my bios before I left. When the ship was hit it must have caused the pod to return to its backup."

  "Yeah. You're lucky life pods have a tamper proof biopreserve otherwise if he was another species that was really different, you'd be growing some interesting body parts."

  "Not funny. And that's gutter gossip. There is no life pod that does biochanges, otherwise the underground market to change outlaws appearances would be cheaper.

  Alright, so after I familiarize myself with the new stuff on this yacht, and study the planet's OP, what do you intend I do here for three months in Butterfly's belly?"

  Her stomach was queasy at the thought of anything that Alan was plugged into would be running through her. It made her feel as edgy as a green soldier just before a drop into the badlands. What she wanted to do was workout to get rid of the pent up anxiety, but her stomach was too unsettled.

  "Well, I'll be sure to send a few of my people over so you can beat them up. I wouldn't mind a go at some hand-to-hand myself." She smiled into the dark eyes of her superior. "But right now, Jina Gari, I'll give you a break and let you get your land legs back. You look pretty pale. Do you want me to send the doc over?"

  JG shook her head then placed a hand on her forehead. "No. No. I'll be fine."

  "Bloody moon, JG, you're really lucky," she muttered. "Come-on. I got some stuff you need to go over, since you refuse to rest." Bian Malchi helped her friend to the bridge of the luxury yacht.

  JG looked at the schematic Bian called up. Silently she was cursing because she could not focus very well on the holographic image of Catching Butterflies. It took a lot of will power to concentrate on what Bian was saying.

  "Should we have to drop out of the slickslip, your ship will be on autopilot, and it will move out of the docking bay to right here."

  JG leaned closer to the hologram. "That's in front of a cannon."

  "Yeah," the Bian smirked.

  "You're planning on shooting me out the damn thing!"

  Bian Malchi looked at her in mock surprise. "Why JG, you've learned to read minds? You'll need it where you're going. It works like a catapult. See; you're the shot, and we're the barrel; we shoot you forward with an empty charge as we drop back. It will break you from our suck when we drop down to cruise speed, and hide you from the other ships."

  "I know how a catapult works, Malchi, and I know that's what this is." She waved her hand in apology, "Sorry. I don't mean to be so belligerent. So…who's behind the button, just so I know who to haunt if anything goes wrong?"

  "Me. Do you think I would trust anyone else? Helgas moon tides, if anything happened to you now, Major General Aglauros would have my new promotion and then my head…provided she contains herself long enough to pull my bars off."

  That brought a weak smile to the JG's face. "Did you load any new games?"

  "Of course! You'll like the new holographic Kung Fu fighting master. It packs a wallop when it gets a hit in, and also mixes various fighting techniques so you have to be adaptive and…it fights dirty. Just the thing to keep you on your toes." Bian clapped her on the shoulder and gave her a hug that was returned. "May the Fates bring you what you need most," she whispered in JG's ear. "Maybe we'll meet again on Arnica."

  "Maybe. May you have many happy and long memories of your command."

  Bian nodded and left the bridge. Bian wondered if she should tell JG about the Sha'Kar that was in her ship.

  Naw, let her figure it out. Give her something to do. After all it was her and Lady Alexandra that brought the Sha'Kars out of their city.

  "Alright. I know you're here," JG mumbled after the captain left.

  "Yes, you do."

  "Isn't this a long way from home for you?" She was wishing everyone would leave her alone for a while so she could get sick without an audience.

  "As it is for you."

  "I'm chasing down a friend."

  "I too am chasing down a friend."

  "Really?" Her physical discomfort quickly subsided at this bit of hopeful information. "This friend didn't happen to hop aboard a ship with my friend, did it?" The colonel looked around to make sure no one was around to notice she was talking to herself.

  "Yes."

  There was a heavy pause, which JG could actually feel as if there was great sorrow coming from his apparition.

  "Then we'll go find our friends together," she said softly. She gave an uncharacteristic sigh, thinking about their situation. "I sure hope they stay out of trouble that they can't get themselves out of."

  "Yes."

  "Do you know about the planet Arnica?"

  "I know stories of many planets. My ancestors colonized planets in manygalaxies."

  "You had ships?"

  "We traveled through portals."

  "Like the one on Merker's Outpost?"

  "Yes."

  She thought about the potential for traveling across galaxies without needing star ships. However, not all portals had guardians to keep them stable and free access to anyone that could step across the threshold safely. Her thoughts went to Alexandra and how amusing it would be to be on Arnica before her. Taking a deep breath she felt happier than she had when she first started this journey. She was only three months from her destination. Then she only had to locate Alexandra, which should not be too difficult, and finish up their assignment. The ship should be able to find her DNA pattern within a few hours.

  "Okay, let's see what's so special about this planet."

  The second day of JG's captivity she felt stronger and in a better mental disposition. When she was at her best physical conditioning, she was the happiest, or that was the way it had been in her past, and though she was not at that point, she was able to take on the Kung Fu Master on the 15th level for two hours before becoming shaky. Not bad according to the medibot that gave her a one week recovery period to get back to full strength. Captain Bian Malchi sent memos throughout her watch, letting her know what was going on outside her prison.

  Catching Butterflies was playing mind games with a new ship that took t
he place of the other three that were left behind. They were far from the Eckron sector and were now sailing through the unexplored Getty sector. The scientists were ecstatic at the information Catching Butterflies was collecting.

  Her communication with the Sha'Kar was getting smoother as she learned to move between alpha and beta thought levels. From the information on Arnica, it was the type of culture she would expect in a monastery. Violence, both mental and physical was abandoned by the majority of the planet, until the DeLan's illegal sending of colony ships, with the intention of using deadly means to get what they wanted. From the evidence presented, they were aware that Arnica was a nonviolent society.

  As she mopped her brow and sipped a beverage after her workout, she moved her thoughts off political worries and potential military campaigns to more pleasant things, her lifemate.

  Rouster's systems powering up woke a napping JG who was slumped in the pilot's comfortable chair.

  "What the…"

  She leaned forward to read the console, as the ship, under autopilot, lifted smoothly out of Catching Butterflies' docking bay.

  "The ship following has become aggressive."

  "Get ready, sister," Captain Malchi's voice whispered over her console speaker.

  "Ready or not, here we come," JG muttered as she tapped a 'receive'. " You ready,my friend?"

  "Yes."

  The Sha'Kar was as excited as JG. The small ship's outer shielding adjusted to the high speed send off, but JG felt out of sorts.

  "I hope this is not how I'm going to feel for the rest of the travel… or I'm gonna need some meds."

  "Perhaps I can help."

  Pop!

  JG slid out of the chair bonelessly.

  "What is happening to me?"

  "I am assisting in the expansion of your awareness, to what is beyond theboundaries of what you know as 'self'."

  "Gaawds. I thought…"

  Her attention went to a brightness that was neither here nor there but part of, yet not even describable in that context. It and she just existed. From there, she was propelled into a dust cloud and shot out at the other end. It was like living through a super nova, yet somehow not having her own existence influenced by the explosive and implosive events.