by Jerry Aubin
“You got that right, Zax—both parts!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
What are you doing here?
Zax and Kalare finished lunch and agreed to connect after the FTL Transit to inform the Boss about their acceptance of his mentorship. Zax’s intention to enact a different plan before then without Kalare’s knowledge aroused some guilt, but he was determined to do whatever he could to protect her. If she heard his plan in advance, she would insist on helping even if it meant both of them getting in trouble—or worse.
The Tube opened and Zax stepped out towards Flight Ops. The lights were still broken and the area around the junction remained dark and dank. It only served to reinforce the feelings of dread that battled the noodles for space in the pit of Zax’s stomach.
The compartment hatch opened, and Zax was surprised when the Flight Boss was not present. He approached the cadet working Threat.
“Good afternoon, Threat. Where’s the Boss? Isn’t there a Transit coming up soon?”
“Hi, Zax. He needed to step out but should be back any min. Why are you here? I could’ve sworn I checked the duty roster and saw you’re not on for another day.”
“No—you got that right. I need to check something though. What do you say you let your mini take a break for a few mins and let me borrow his station?”
“Of course. Be my guest.”
The cadet at the Mini-Threat station stood and walked away. Zax sat down and used the console to put his plan into motion. A few mins later the Flight Boss entered the compartment and Zax caught his eye.
“Good afternoon, Zax. What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you until after the Transit.”
Zax’s heart threatened to burst out of his ribcage and his mouth had gone bone dry. He paused for a deep breath and then spoke.
“Hello, sir. There’s something I need to discuss with you, and I figured it was best to come right away rather than wait. I received a message from Lieutenant Mikedo with some weird stuff in it.”
Most of the Flight Ops staff were hard at work prepping for the FTL Transit, but a couple of nearby Crew looked up from their workstations in reaction to Zax’s statement. A private message from the Boss arrived via his Plug.
“Zax—what’s going on? What do you mean you got a message from Mikedo?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m thinking it would be better for us to have this conversation verbally. I’m still getting the hang of all of this Plug stuff, and I would hate to be in the middle of this discussion and mess something up.”
“Cut the crap, Zax. I can see your face turning red from here. There’s clearly something that has you worked up, so please do me the courtesy of dropping this game. What did Mikedo’s note say? I have to tell you the medics believe she wasn’t particularly lucid before she died, so I wouldn’t put much faith in anything she sent towards the end of your visit to the planet.”
Zax’s face burned even hotter with the Boss’s observation. He noted the statement about Mikedo’s mental state. It was amazing how the Boss was already laying groundwork to discredit anything Mikedo might have discussed in her message.
“You see, sir, she found something strange down on the planet when the two of us got separated. We never had a chance to talk about it before she got sick and died, but she sent me a note via my Plug which I’ve just now been able to open.”
More Crew were now paying attention to what Zax was saying out loud. The Boss continued to gaze at him impassively even while their private communication became more heated.
“Zax—I have to warn you that what you’re doing here is extremely dangerous. Let’s head into my conference room and we can discuss this privately. It would be a shame for you to cause a lot of disruption and panic over nothing more than the ravings of a feverish individual. We both cared for her deeply, and neither one of us wants her reputation sullied by something she wrote while her mind wasn’t working right. Let’s figure this out together.”
Appealing to his desire to protect Mikedo was a wise move by the Boss, but Zax charged ahead regardless.
“I know this sounds crazy, sir, but Mikedo told me she found a human spacecraft from Earth when she was down on the planet.”
All activity ceased in Flight Ops. Every head turned and stared at Zax in response to the words “human” and “Earth.” The Boss finally spoke out loud.
“You’re right, cadet. That does sound crazy. The medics believed she had been ill for some period of time before she collapsed, so I’m guessing anything she thought she saw was nothing more than feverish hallucinations.”
“I would have thought the same thing, sir, but she included some video with her note.”
Zax’s field of vision flashed red as the Boss’s latest private message arrived marked with the highest level of urgency and importance.
“Cadet—do not say another word! THAT IS A DIRECT ORDER!”
Zax kept his expression neutral, gazed at the Boss straight in the eye, and pointed at the panorama. The officer checked the screen and the color drained from his face.
Mikedo’s video had started and every person in Flight Ops stared at it intently. Whispered conversations which began at the sight of the fighter morphed into a much louder buzz as the camera panned into the cockpit and revealed the human writing. Flight Ops finally erupted in absolute tumult when the footage ended and a close-up of the mounted picture of Earth remained on the giant screens.
“Eight thousand demerits, cadet! You’re lucky you didn’t violate my order about speaking or you would’ve found yourself challenging Cyrus’ record for demerits. I’m hitting you with the maximum I feel I can justify right now, but rest assured I’ll be watching you closely and will enjoy every opportunity to pile on more! Needless to say, my mentorship is no longer available.”
“Calm down, everyone. Calm down please.” The Boss’s spoken tone was cool and calm in marked contrast to his private communication with Zax. He waited for the noise to fade and then continued. “That is a very interesting piece of video, cadet. I will ask Alpha to evaluate its content and will want to discuss it with you further. Until then, please return to your berth and prepare for the Transit. Dismissed.”
The Boss turned away. Zax stood to leave the compartment but paused for a moment and considered the situation. He followed Mikedo’s advice and made the existence of the human fighter public, and based on past experience he expected the information would be dispersed around the ship within days if not hours.
What was the cost to Zax? He lost everything he worked for over the past few weeks of the intense training. Not only the extra credits from the emergency panorama repair, but also the Boss’s mentorship. Zax slowly realized this cost paled compared to what was truly lost. Mikedo was dead. Zax owed his life to her since she died trying to protect him. Revealing the existence of the fighter was a down payment on that debt, but it wasn’t enough.
“Sir—there’s just one more thing.”
The Boss’s head snapped around. The fury in his eyes was clear for all to see, and it was acknowledged by shocked gasps from more than one person.
“It appears to me, sir, that Mikedo’s death was not an accident. I believe she was murdered by someone to hide the existence of the human fighter. Most likely the person who attempted to kill me yesterday with the same goal in mind. All of the evidence points to that person being one of the Omegas.”
Time froze within Flight Ops. Zax could practically see the echo of his words as they reverberated around the compartment. His pounding heartbeat filled his ears as everyone held their breath and waited in the absolute stillness.
The silence was finally broken by laughter—hearty, rolling guffaws from the Boss. The man’s expression a moment ago had primed Zax to expect rage, so the laughter came as a complete surprise. The longer it continued, however, the more it became clear that anger would probably have been a safer reaction.
“Thank you, son, but I haven’t had a laugh like that in a long time.” The Boss
chuckled one last time and took a deep breath before he continued. “It never ceases to amaze me how young people can possess such amazing imaginations. The Ship really benefits when all of that youthful exuberance is harnessed which is why we get you all involved in such important jobs so early in your careers. I almost hate to stifle your creativity this way, but, unfortunately, you’ve crossed a line that should not have been crossed.”
The Boss paused for a couple of beats as he stared at Zax. The laughter had drained from the man’s eyes and they were once again stone cold. Zax fought to keep his knees from buckling under the weight of the steely gaze. After an eternity, the Boss spoke.
“Fifty thousand demerits. Get out of my compartment.”
Zax wanted to run out of Flight Ops, but it seemed as if his legs were momentarily paralyzed. A final private message arrived from the Boss.
“It’s a real shame, Zax. I don’t know what you were thinking, but things could have been so different if you had just come to me privately with Mikedo’s message and your concerns. I should send you straight to cryosleep for making such an outrageous accusation, but doing that might make people think I was actually trying to hide something. I hope you achieved whatever you were after, though I can’t imagine it being worth throwing your career away. Now get out of here without another word before I change my mind and decide it should be a trip out the airlock instead of demerits!”
Zax was finally able to move his body and flee the compartment. He paused once the hatch closed behind him and bent over with his hands on his knees. A series of deep breaths fought off a wave of nausea. He started to walk again and was immediately flooded with self-doubt. What had he done?
If he had stopped after playing the video, he would have succeeded in announcing the existence of the human fighter with the only cost being a relatively small number of points and the loss of the Boss’s mentorship. Instead, he announced that someone among the most powerful people on board the Ship had committed murder with nothing to back him up other than a bunch of assumptions and coincidences. It was almost certainly the Boss behind it all, but Zax had zero proof and the man was surely aware of that fact. No wonder he laughed in the face of the accusation.
In the end, Zax had traded getting laughed at by the Boss for a staggering fifty thousand points. He started high enough on the Leaderboard that getting hit with even that many demerits wouldn’t guarantee him being Culled, but he was just barely in the safe zone. Something as simple as a botched exam or a stupid injury could send him to cryosleep.
Even if he did avoid being Culled, Zax now faced a lifetime with nothing for a career. At the bottom of the Leaderboard, he would wind up working somewhere in the bowels of the Ship doing something horrifically distasteful. If he was lucky, he might someday rise up to the level where he could manage the sewage system or something similarly depressing. In the span of a few short mins, he had dropped himself from the absolute pinnacle of Crew life almost all the way to the very bottom.
Should he have found a different way? He had exposed the existence of the fighter, but should he have just stopped there? Maybe if he could have kept his job in Flight Ops and stayed close to the Boss, he would have found a way to make the man pay for Mikedo’s death as well. Was that a realistic scenario, or was he just flailing at anything that might have led to better self-preservation?
Zax finally shocked himself with the conclusion he didn’t care about himself or his career any longer. Contrary to 5,000 years’ worth of history and tradition, the Ship was not the only human presence in the universe and soon everyone on board would be aware of that incredible fact—for better or worse. Mikedo died because of this discovery, and Zax had just made sure her death wasn’t in vain. The sacrifice of his career was a small price to pay when compared to the sacrifice of her life. He hadn’t come close to exacting revenge for her death, but at least he had guaranteed it would have some meaning.
He reached the Tube and requested the Zeta berth just as the FTL bell sounded. He sighed in relief knowing it meant he would have time to digest everything that had happened before he had to face Kalare and share the story with her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Hello, lunch?
The sour, gag-inducing smell hit Zax the moment the bells woke him. He recognized the odor but was dismayed by its presence. He opened his eyes and the source swirled around him. Hello, lunch?
What the—? Wasn’t it bad enough he had just tossed his career into the trash, but now he couldn’t even catch a break with his Plug? The medics said he was fixed—they had adjusted his implant so he would never barf after FTL again. What happened?
Zax was even more out of luck because he had not positioned any cleaning supplies nearby since the problem was supposedly cured. He looked up and desperately hoped the voluminous puke would stay in orbit directly above him and not come splashing down on anyone else. Right at that moment Kalare flew across his field of vision, vomit bucket in hand. She smiled that big beaming smile of hers. The typical chants of “Puke Boy!” echoed through the berth, but Kalare’s voice cut through them loud and clear.
“Hey there, friend—how about I help you out?”
If you liked Zax and Kalare please post a review on Amazon. If you would like to read more about their adventures on the Ship, Revolution - The Ship Series Book 2 is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited right now!
Acknowledgments
About three years ago I was going through some particularly khrazy times in my life. My therapist (thank you R.G!) suggested that a great way to get myself more grounded would be a creative, right-brain activity that would balance all of the left-brain work that dominates my professional life. The seeds of this story had been bouncing around in my head for a while so I decided to take the plunge and write a novel.
Me being me, I actually decided that I would not write just one novel, but a series of SEVEN. Thankfully, I managed to talk myself off that particular ledge and you are holding in your hand book one of what will be only (!) a five volume series.
There are many people who played a role in getting this book published. The first is Owen Egerton. Owen is a creative polymath of the highest order who I am fortunate enough to call a friend. The degree to which he is wildly talented is surpassed only by the generosity with which he shares his talents. I remember how terrified I was the first time I talked to Owen about this project. He could have easily patted me on the head and said “nice try, kid”, but instead he gave not only warm encouragement but also invaluable advice.
I was also lucky to benefit from my friendship with the other half of the talented Egerton duo when Jodi became my first editor. I’m tempted to go back and read some of the early drafts to see how far the story (and the prose) has come in that time, but I’m not sure I really want to subject myself to that kind of abuse. Jodi gave fantastic guidance and support when this project teetered between an absolute lark and something I really wanted to pour my heart into. Her encouragement pushed it forward into the form it is today.
Jodi eventually handed me off to a new editor in Stacey Swann. Stacey’s guidance has absolutely made a huge difference in where this book wound up–both from a plot perspective as well as the writing style and quality. Her contributions were endless and will be eternally appreciated.
Outside of the professionals, I also benefited tremendously from the input of early readers among my friends. Kathleen Trail gave a couple of gentle pointers in the very early going that stuck with me throughout. Michael Lee was not only willing to read multiple drafts, he was also tremendously supportive and encouraging throughout the entire process. I will state here for the record that his life debt owed to me is discharged in light of his service to the Ship.
As the story got more and more refined, I was brave enough to share it with a larger group of friends who all provided encouragement and feedback. Huge appreciation for Laura Parrot Perry, Amy Nylund, Clayton and Tisha Havens, Scherry Sweeney, Scott Hyman, and Zachary W. All of those fo
lks took the time to read and provide some great input.
Many thanks to Bryan McNeal for the cover concepts and art. I am honored that my book and Gatti’s Pizza have both benefited from Bryan’s artistry.
Finally, I want to express tremendous gratitude for my family. My lovely wife Kerry has provided constant encouragement and exhibited fantastic restraint about the number of Saturday and Sunday mornings I’ve spent typing away at Starbucks. My eldest, Parker, was super enthusiastic about reading the very first draft of volume one, even though he probably should have been begging me to refine it before unleashing it upon him. My youngest, Wesley, had book one read aloud by Kerry, and still managed to remember it a year later when I read volume two to him. The whole family provided great feedback and inspiration–even if Kerry still rants about the pronunciation of Kalare’s name.