Heart of the Nebula

by Joe Vasicek

  She looked at him and smiled. “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether you think we should make our plans together.”

  His heart hammered so hard that it seemed about to leap right out of his chest, but that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that the most amazing girl he’d ever known wanted to start a new life with him.

  “Any plan with you is a plan I, uh…”

  Words failed him. With a smirk, she pressed a finger against his mouth, then closed her eyes and leaned forward. Her lips touched his, and every muscle in his body turned to water.

  * * * * *

  Sarah’s heart felt heavy as she made her way to her father’s office. She was so happy to be on the same ship as James, but now she had to face the other side of it, and that was saying goodbye to her father.

  It’s not such a big deal, she tried in vain to convince herself. It’s not like I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to him anyways. Either way, once the cryotank closed shut on her, that would be the last she’d ever see or hear from her father. So why did she feel so guilty?

  The door to the office hissed open, revealing a lobby almost completely devoid of furnishings. A box sat on the secretary’s desk with the last few of her workplace belongings in it; a few half-forgotten mementos were tacked against the wall, but that was all that showed that anyone had ever worked here.

  “Hello?” Sara asked, glancing around the eerily empty room. “Is anybody here?”

  She heard something in the direction of the conference room, so she let herself in and walked back there. The door was open, revealing the long, empty meeting table with all the chairs neatly lined up along the side. Her father sat at the head, a shot glass in one hand and a fine bottle of Aurigan whiskey in the other.

  “Sara, my dear!” he called out to her. “You’re just in time for the celebration. Please, come in.”

  He’s drunk, she realized. He never gets drunk.

  “Dad?” she asked tentatively from the doorway.

  “Yes, my dear?”

  “Are you… okay?”

  “I’ve never been better,” he said, pouring himself another glass. “A great weight has been lifted from my shoulders—lifted quite permanently. Come, sit down.”

  Sara walked slowly inside and sat down at the far end of the table. Her father tossed his head back and downed the whiskey in one go.

  “This upshift,” he said drowsily, “I formally submitted my letter of resignation to the General Assembly. It was accepted without objection, and no successor was nominated.” He leaned back and waved his hand in the air. “It appears I have the honor of being the last patrician!”

  A lump rose in Sara’s throat to see her father in such a wreck. His whole life had been wrapped up in his duties as patrician.

  “Oh, Daddy,” she cried. “I’m so sorry.”

  “There is no reason to be sorry, my dear,” said her father, pouring himself another glass. “Instead, you should be happy to finally have your father back. No more politics, no more scheming, no more secrets. It’s all behind us now.”

  Her stomach sank at his words.

  “You didn’t have to do this for me.”

  “Oh, but I did, Sara. I know how you feel about me. You and your mother both feel about me the same way. Well, I may have lost her, but I’m not going to lose you, Sara. I love you.”

  Tears burned in Sara’s eyes. It was all she could do to bite her lip and nod.

  “I saw on the rosters that McCoy traded to get you on his ship,” her father continued. “I take it you want to be with him when you wake up?”

  So he knows.

  “Yes, Daddy. I came here as soon as I could to tell you.”

  Her father smiled. “Well, I see my last grand plot was a success. Your mother would be happy to see you now.”

  Sara frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You always did remind me of your mother.” He took a sip of the whiskey and set down the glass with a heavy hand. “Our relationship meant a lot more to her than it ever did to me. I knew you would be just like her.”

  “You—you knew about me and James?”

  “Of course, dear. Do you think that was just about politics? Whatever else I may be, I’m a loving father who wants you to be happy.”

  Sara didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, so she did both. As the tears streamed down her cheek, the weight of guilt lifted like a heavy cloud.

  “Thank you, Daddy. I love you, too.”

  “I only hope James turns out to be a better man than I was,” her father muttered. “Stars know you deserve much more.”

  With that, Sara couldn’t help herself. She stood up and rushed to her father’s side, throwing her arms around him. The smell of whiskey was strong on his breath, but he held her tenderly and patted her on the back.

  “I’m going to miss you, Daddy,” she cried. “When we get to Chira, I’m not going to forget you.”

  “That’s the best legacy I could ask for.”

  Sara buried her face against her father’s chest and sobbed.

  Chapter 15

  The Good Hope Nebula loomed in the windows of the observation deck like a blue silk sheet cast in front of the milky starfield. James stared out with his hands clasped smartly behind his back, pondering the uncertain future. In a matter of days, they would all be bound for the heart of that vast, unexplored cloud of gas and dust, never to be in contact with the outside universe again. It was a grim trade-off—distance and isolation for a chance at a new beginning—but in a universe ravaged on all sides by wolves, it was the only sure protection that they had.

  As he watched, a series of flashes announced the arrival of the Nabattan transport ships from jumpspace. In just a few minutes, they would dock with the sublight colony ship that would be their new home. The arrangements had already been made, and all the logistical difficulties had been tackled. All that was left was to wait.

  As he stared out the window at the approaching transports, Sara walked up to his side and slipped her hand into his. “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “Are you?”

  “No,” she admitted, taking a deep breath. “But I doubt I ever will be.”

  “Ah, Captain! There you are!” Sterling said as he stepped onto the deck. James turned to see his old copilot headed straight for them, an irrepressible grin on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” James asked.

  “Nothing at all,” said Sterling, ambling up beside them. “I just thought you might want to know that the—oh, looks like you can already see them from here.”

  Sara chuckled. “A little eager to get going, Chief?”

  “Of course, Miss Galbraith-Dickson. Aren’t you?”

  “It’s been difficult ever since we left Karduna,” she answered. “But this place has always been my home. I’m going to miss it.”

  “Is everything ready for the transfer, Sterling?” James asked.

  “Yes, Captain. We’ve got all the equipment and supplies clearly labeled and organized. Once we’re on board those colony ships, it shouldn’t take more than a dayshift or two to get the fabricators set up and ready to manufacture everything we need. Just you wait and see, sir—in less than a month, we’ll turn that ship into our home.”

  “I’m sure you will,” said James. “You’ll make an outstanding chief engineer, Sterling. I don’t doubt that at all.”

  Sterling beamed. “Thanks, Captain. I won’t disappoint you.”

  Sara squeezed James’s hand and gave him a brief tug, indicating that she wanted some time alone with him. He squeezed back to acknowledge her.

  “Is there anything else you need to see to, Sterling?”

  “Not really, sir. Everything’s all set to—oh.” He nodded and took a step back. “Right. I’ll, ah, see you two later then.”

  He turned and headed for the elevator, leaving James and Sara alone. She took a deep breath and leaned her head on his shoulder, as if overcome with weariness.
James put a hand around her waist and held her close.

  “I’m ready to leave,” she said softly, “but I’m not quite ready to say goodbye.”

  He tried to think of something to console her, but the words failed to come. Somehow, though, being there to hold her was enough. The stars shone down on them with their cold, distant light, but so long as they had each other, the darkness would never swallow them.

  * * * * *

  “Ah, Commander McCoy, it’s a pleasure see you in person. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  From the moment the bald little round-headed man opened his mouth, James knew that he didn’t like him. His beady eyes and thick eyebrows made his weaselly, insincere smile all the more aggravating.

  “Soner,” said James, offering his hand. “You’re the commander of the Nabattan ramjet fleet, am I right?”

  “Commander of the ramjet fleet and system security, as well,” said Soner, tilting his head back with an air of authority. “I am, you could say, the man responsible for running this system.”

  Then I take it you weren’t elected democratically, James nearly said aloud, catching himself just in time.

  Soner folded his arms and cocked his head, the duplicitous smile never leaving his face.

  “I do believe we’ve met before, Commander, though our first meeting was a brief one. When I met with your patrician’s daughter at Gaia Nova, I saw you as I escorted her to your ship. Do you remember?”

  James frowned and thought back to the gunfight at the conference, near the docking node for the Freedom Star. He vaguely remembered a bald-headed man slinking into the shadows.

  “That was you?”

  “It was, indeed. Thankfully, the circumstances of our second meeting are much more amenable than our first. It was truly regrettable how the conference ended.”

  “It was,” James agreed, “but it was still a noble effort.”

  “Yes, well, it ended as most noble efforts do: in disaster. Fortunately, your patrician was much more foresighted and pragmatic than the rest of you. It’s truly refreshing to see that you’ve embraced his vision so completely.”

  James scowled. “How soon can you get us to the colony ships?”

  The door to the spaceport lounge hissed open, and Sara stepped inside. She glanced from Soner to James, frowning ever so slightly.

  “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?”

  “Not at all, Miss Galbraith-Dickson,” said Soner. “We were just talking about you. Please, have a seat.”

  We were talking about getting our people to those colony ships, James almost snapped, but he didn’t want to start an argument while Sara was in the room. Instead, he glared at Soner, hoping that the bald little man would get the hint.

  “Really?” Sara asked. “What were you saying?”

  “We were talking about how lovely you were at the conference, my dear,” said Soner, taking her hand. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, making James bristle. A sly glance from the corner of Soner’s eye made him suspect the gesture was meant to irritate him.

  “Why, thank you,” said Sara, smiling uncertainly.

  James stepped up to her side and put an arm possessively around her waist. “How soon will we be ready to depart?”

  “You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?” Soner asked, acting as if he were hurt. “Surely you wouldn’t deprive me of such a lovely young woman’s company. We get so few female visitors out in these parts.”

  Keep creeping on her, and I’ll slug you so hard you’ll feel like a meteor hit you square between the eyes.

  “Don’t be silly. I’m sure James didn’t mean it that way,” said Sara, laughing to diffuse the tension. “We’re just eager to get to our ships after such a long and arduous voyage.”

  “Arduous,” said Soner, licking his lips. “That’s an interesting way to describe it. And I’m sure that the next phase of your journey will be even more—how shall I say—arduous than the first.”

  He grinned as if to insinuate something. James again had to resist the urge to slug him.

  “Yes, well, all the more reason to get us to those colony ships,” said Sara. Her laughter had a tinge of nervousness to it.

  “Certainly, my dear,” said Soner. “My men are loading your equipment and supplies as we speak. They’ll go ahead of us to unload before you arrive, so that everything will be ready to go when you get there.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” said Sara.

  “Nabattan compliments, my dear. Not that we’re eager to send a beautiful young woman such as yourself away.”

  “That’s enough,” James snapped, unable to hold back any longer. “The sooner we can be on our way, the better.”

  “All work and no pleasure, eh?” said Soner. When he failed to get another rise out of James, his face fell, and he turned to the porthole.

  “We don’t have enough room on our station to transfer you all to your ships at the same time. Even if we did, our FTL fleet is understandably limited.”

  “So what’s the solution?” James asked.

  “The quickest way to get you all to your ships is to stagger the crew transfers so that we fill up each ship and have it launch while we go and get the crew for the next one. We can transfer all the crew of a single colony ship at a go, but they’ll have to leave before the next crew gets there.”

  James frowned. “So you’ll have to take us out one ship at a time?”

  “It’s what we agreed to,” said Sara. “We knew from the beginning that this was the only way to get everyone to the ships, and we planned for it, didn’t we?”

  “Indeed we did, my dear,” said Soner.

  Something about this doesn’t feel right, James thought to himself. At the same time, though, it wasn’t like they had much of a choice. With the Hameji at their backs and nowhere but the nebula to flee for refuge, Soner held all the cards.

  “Very well. How quickly can we do it?”

  “The fastest we can take you out is one crew complement every six hours.”

  “At that rate, it’ll take almost a week to get us all out,” James grumbled.

  “It’s okay,” said Sara, rubbing his back. “We’ve come this far. What’s another few days?”

  “Very well, but I want the captains to choose which order we depart in. Is that clear, Soner?”

  “Of course,” said Soner, holding his hands palm up. “It makes no difference to us. Tell us when you’re ready, and we’ll be more than happy to take you out.”

  “Good,” said James. “And my crew goes last.”

  “Why, pray tell?”

  “To make sure you don’t try anything.”

  For several tense moments, he and Soner stared each other down, neither one flinching. In those moments, James saw something fierce in Soner’s smug eyes—something almost feral. But then, Soner threw back his head and laughed.

  “To make sure we don’t try anything! Very well, Commander, you shall have your wish, though I hope the wait will not make you any more… unpleasant.”

  “If you think I’m unpleasant now,” said James, his voice low, “just wait until you see me in action.”

  “James!” Sara hissed. “That’s enough.”

  “That’s all right, Miss Galbraith-Dickson,” said Soner. “I know when I’m not welcome. We all have our duties to attend to, as tedious as some of ours may be. I will see you on the final run, Commander.”

  It had better be the last time we see each other, too, James nearly said aloud. But Sara was starting to glare at him, and he’d said too much already.

  * * * * *

  The air felt chill as Sara entered her father’s apartment. At first, she thought it was because he spent most of his time at the office, but then she remembered that he’d resigned his office midway to the rendezvous point. Was he trying to conserve energy, then? It seemed odd that someone who had made a career out of manipulating people would make such a personal sacrifice, but even after all these years, her father could still surpri
se her.

  “Ah, Sara,” he said, ushering her in. “So glad you could make it. Please excuse the mess.”

  If you think this place is a mess, you should see my apartment, Sara thought to herself. Except for a couple of packing crates in the center of the room and a small pile of papers on the couch, her father’s place was conspicuously empty.

  “I know you’re scheduled to leave soon,” she began, her voice distant.

  “In about two hours,” he said cheerfully. “We’ll be the third colony ship to go. But even at our maximum cruising velocity, we still should be within a few minutes of transmission range.”

  “But I guess this is our last chance to say goodbye in-person.”

  He stopped what he was doing and turned to face her. “Indeed it is.”

  She gave him a hug, which he returned rather stiffly. He thinks I’m still upset with him, she realized. Perhaps she still was, but she wasn’t going to let that get in the way of saying goodbye.

  “So how does it feel to see all your plans come together?” she asked, more to break the ice than anything else.

  “They haven’t come together quite yet,” he said, “though it’s been gratifying to see how well they’ve worked out so far.”

  “Oh, come on, Dad. In two hours, you’ll be safely on your way.”

  “Yes, but it will still take a few days before we can say the same thing about the rest of the Colony.”

  “We’ll be fine,” she told him. “James insisted that our ship go last, just to make sure that everyone makes it out all right.”

  Her father nodded approvingly. “I thought he might do something like that. It’s good to see a man like him rise to take the reins of leadership.”

  He’s just being paranoid if you ask me, Sara thought to herself. Still, she couldn’t blame him for not trusting the Nabattans, particularly Soner. She’d be happy when that man was far, far away.

  “Speaking of James,” her father continued, “how are things going between you two?”

  “Pretty well,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “We’ve been so busy with our preparations for the voyage that we’ve barely seen each other, but we’re definitely a couple now.”