by Linn Schwab
The question lingered in her thoughts for a moment as she contemplated different scenarios. As she watched the projection on the classroom wall, something appeared on the Calypso’s footage that dramatically influenced her decision: an enemy battleship off in the distance, steaming across her line of sight. The urge to destroy it burned like a fire inside her. It was a potent symbol of Earth’s military might, and ability to wage war against her sisters. Destroying it was the most effective method she could think of to punish them for all of the suffering they’d caused. She realized now, as she turned to look at the commander, that her future was going to take a different path than she’d expected. She was never going to pilot a Sentinel fighter. At least not if Commander Eldridge gave her a choice.
* * * *
The Wallaby’s bridge was cold and dark. Janine was curled up in the navigations chair, with her knees pulled up against her chest. Somehow, she’d managed to doze off in that position, though it didn’t make for a very comfortable sleep. Visions from her past danced along the edges of her dreams, taunting her with a barrage of unpleasant memories. She recalled the faces of girls she had served with, and the nightmarish tension of heading into battle. Alarms and warning chimes rattled her eardrums, and flashing red lights threatened to blot out her vision. The scream of intensifying engine noise spurred her heart to beat stronger and faster. She saw the look on her captain’s face as she opened her mouth to issue an order—
“Transfer complete,” the computer informed her.
The announcement jolted her awake in an instant. She took a few seconds to recover from her dream, then retrieved her reader from the instrument panel and grabbed her key from the ignition slot. “Thank you, CVS Wallaby,” she said. “You’ve done your part. Now the rest is up to me.”
When Janine arrived at the classroom, Delia was just stepping out through the door. Commander Eldridge was alone in the room. She gestured for Janine to join her.
“Did you get it?” the commander asked.
Janine nodded. “The systems console was pretty banged up. I had to extract it from the navigations panel, so it’s going to take me a while to piece it together.”
“That’s fine. There are a few more personnel I’d like to speak with anyway, so feel free to take a break if you need to. This information is of critical importance to us. Take your time, and make sure it’s as accurate as possible.”
“Yes, Commander.”
* * * *
Robin languished in the cafeteria for hours as Commander Eldridge continued calling people to the classroom. Her squad mates checked in on her throughout the day, but Major Richards kept insisting they leave her alone. Most of them managed to sneak in periodically, to give her updates on what was happening. But Mindy seemed to vanish for hours on end, without offering any explanation of her whereabouts. When she reappeared at meal times, she seemed to have dust clinging to her hair, and greasy black smudges on her dress and her skin. Robin was convinced she knew what was happening: Mindy was exploring the inner depths of Volaris, where dust and grease could be found in abundant supply. She was rooting around in mechanical access tunnels that Robin herself had only seen brief glimpses of. It was clear to her that Mindy was searching for something, and she had her suspicions about what that might be. But she wasn’t in a position right now that allowed her to dig into the matter any deeper.
A few hours after the lunch period, Christy wandered in and sat down with Robin. She looked at Robin almost as if pleading for her help. Her appearance suggested she was in some distress. Dark circles hung underneath Christy’s eyes, and her cheeks seemed to droop from the effects of fatigue. Her breathing was slow and shallow. She looked completely exhausted to Robin.
“Are you alright?” Robin asked her. “You look really tired.”
Christy’s eyes drifted shut for a moment. “Robin,” she said, choking back tears, “I helped kill people. They won’t let me sleep. I can hear them screaming. And sometimes when I close my eyes, I can see them dying.”
Robin was unsure what she was talking about, still unaware of what had transpired on the Calypso. But she was certain she understood what was happening to Christy, having just been through something similar with Mindy. “You need to tell Major Richards,” she said. “She can give you something that will help you sleep.”
Christy leaned forward and laid her head on the table. “My head is really starting to hurt.”
“Please,” Robin said, “go find Major Richards. It’s only going to get worse if you don’t do something about it.”
After resting a few seconds more, Christy nodded and got to her feet. “I will,” she said, then staggered toward the cafeteria’s exit. Shortly after she wandered out of sight, a call came over the station’s loudspeakers:
“Christy Allison, report to classroom A.”
Oh, no! Robin fretted in anguish. This is not what she needs right now! Please just leave her alone! She needs to get some sleep first!
* * * *
Taking care to avoid scattered showers of sparks, Major Richards slipped into the smoke filled spur to see how repairs on the destroyers were progressing. She located one of the head technicians and asked her for a brief summary.
“It’s not good,” the technician responded. “We’re still working on the Terrapin and the Osprey, but the Angelfish is completely shot. There’s nothing we can do for her engines. They just took too much damage.”
“What about the Wallaby? Is she ready for combat yet?”
“No, Major. We were ordered to stop working on the Wallaby.”
“What?” the major asked in surprise. “Ordered by who?”
“That woman with the black card key. She didn’t give us her name.”
Major Richards spun about and stormed away through the smoke and the clutter. Even before she reached the elevator, she was already piecing together in her mind a slew of choice words to hurl at Janine. Whatever her official rank might be, she’s going to have to answer for this. And she’d better have a very good explanation for jeopardizing the safety of this station.
The elevator gave her a chance to cool off and reconsider her intention to berate Janine. By the time the doors slid open for her, she’d decided a firm questioning might suffice. But everything changed in a heartbeat for her as another announcement came over the loudspeakers:
“Commander Eldridge, report to the infirmary, immediately!”
The major gasped and stopped in her tracks. There could only be one reason for such an announcement. Sheri’s awake! she realized. Abandoning her plan to seek out Janine, she threw caution to the wind and ran toward the infirmary as fast as she could. She was determined to get there before Commander Eldridge, even if it meant running someone over on the way. The commander would no doubt want to question Sheri, whether it was safe for her to do so or not. I need to examine her first, she told herself. Before Commander Eldridge gets to her! But as soon as the infirmary doors were in sight, she realized she was already too late. She saw the commander step into the room, and heard her introduce herself to Sheri.
Coming to a stop just outside the door, the major struggled to catch her breath. But when she tried to step inside the room, Janine intercepted her and blocked her path.
“I need to examine her,” Major Richards insisted. “She has a very serious head injury.”
“As soon as we’re finished,” Janine assured her. “Don’t worry, the commander knows what she’s doing.”
The major considered trying to force her way in, but she realized it was a losing battle. The commander would simply order her to leave. There was nothing she could do but simply wait till they were done, and hope for Sheri’s sake they didn’t worsen her condition. Frustrated and annoyed with Janine and the commander, she turned and started to walk away. Through the door, she overheard the commander say something that sparked a great deal of concern within her:
“Now, Sheri,” the commander said, “while listening to the Wallaby’s cabin recording, I could
n’t help but notice that at one point during the course of your excursion, you stated that you wished you were a machine.”
Major Richards gasped in alarm and immediately turned around again. But at this point, Janine closed the door in her face, leaving her cut off from the conversation. Concerned for Sheri’s well being, she placed her ear against the surface of the door to see if she could make out what they were saying. All she could hear were the sounds of muffled voices. Whatever the commander’s plans were for Sheri, they remained a mystery for the time being.
Her thoughts became laced with dark suspicions over what the commander’s intentions might be. Was she looking for a guinea pig for some experiment that might turn Sentinels into living machines? Could she possibly be seeking Sheri’s consent to make her a test subject for such a procedure? Or was she hoping to somehow extract her consciousness and transfer it into a computer core? It bothered her that Sheri was in a weakened state which might leave her more open to the power of persuasion.
The fact that the major was helpless to intervene only added to her feelings of frustration and uncertainty. With no choice but to wait for the commander to finish, she wandered down to the hangar level to see if there was anything that required her attention. Since the hangar crew was working on the destroyers, a group of fighter pilots had taken the initiative to ensure that their squadrons were ready to launch. Captain McNeil appeared to be organizing things and assigning duties to the other pilots. Damaged planes were being lined up along the outer walls where they could later be repaired or scavenged for parts. The new fighters which had recently been delivered were being divvied up according to need. All of the planes were being repositioned so each squadron was neatly segregated and staged. Everything appeared to be running smoothly, so the major decided her presence wasn’t needed. She was free to remain focused on other issues.
Passing in front of the cold storage room, she paused for a moment to look in through the window. The box that contained Commander Jeffries’ body was a painful reminder of recent events. As she stared at the box with a heavy heart, someone quietly walked over and joined her. She could tell by a faint reflection in the window that Captain McNeil was standing by her side.
“So,” Jenny said, following a moment of silence, “are you planning to send her body down on a shuttle?”
The major answered with a somber nod. “She deserves to be laid to rest on Valhalla.”
“Don’t we all?” Jenny suggested. “Aren’t we all worthy of that consideration? I mean, if we’re going to sacrifice our lives for this world, wouldn’t it be nice to have some reassurance we’ll eventually be reunited with it?”
Major Richards looked at her as if she’d suddenly struck a nerve.
Jenny grinned when she saw the reaction. “You’re just now realizing it, aren’t you?” she said. “That feeling that seems to be buried deep inside us. When you look inside yourself and ask what it is you fear most, it isn’t dying or being killed in combat, is it? What you fear is the same thing all of us fear. The prospect of being separated from Valhalla forever.”
The major seemed lost in thought for a moment as she searched her feelings for confirmation.
“It’s the truth,” Jenny said. “We all feel it. Some of us feel it more strongly than others. We may not all recognize it for what it is at first, but the further we end up away from Valhalla, the more we find ourselves thinking about it. If you really want to feel it rise up to the surface, you need to put yourself all alone in a fighter out along the edges of Sentinel space. For a lot of us, that’s when we first begin to realize how much influence it really has over us.”
Major Richards seemed both intrigued and concerned. She carefully scrutinized Jenny’s demeanor for any hints that she might be just making this up. “So, what do you suppose causes this feeling?” she asked. “Since you seem to have experienced it yourself first hand, maybe you can shed some light on it for me.”
“I don’t know,” Jenny said. “It’s a mystery to me. And it’s not something we pilots feel comfortable discussing. Not even with each other.”
“Why is that?” the major asked. “Fear? Anxiety? Embarrassment perhaps?”
Jenny didn’t seem willing to offer an answer.
Major Richards crossed her arms and cocked her head in curiosity. “It’s surprising to me that you wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing this amongst yourselves. I’ve observed the behavior of a great many fighter pilots, and I’ve noticed how you girls become attached to each other.”
Jenny shrugged, as if to dismiss the significance. “I’ve observed the behavior of a few majors,” she said, “and there’s something I’ve noticed about you as well.”
“What’s that?” Major Richards asked, openly intrigued.
“You don’t think the same way other officers think. You have a different way of interacting with people. You seem to want to get inside their thoughts, and try to influence the way they perceive things. What is it, exactly, about you majors that makes you so different from everyone else?”
“It’s the medical curriculum,” the major explained. “Psychology is an important part of our studies.”
“That may be so,” Jenny conceded, “but let me ask you another question. At what point in your progression as a Sentinel were you selected to take part in this ‘medical curriculum?’”
Major Richards opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by an announcement from the station’s intercom:
“Veronica Marlowe, report to classroom A.”
If Commander Eldridge is questioning Veronica, the major realized, it means that she’s finished with Sheri for now. “Excuse me,” she said to Jenny, “I need to get to the infirmary right away.” She dashed off between two rows of fighters and quickly scrambled out of the hangar.
“Of course you do,” Jenny muttered in frustration. “But you didn’t answer my question, Major.”
As Major Richards sprinted toward the infirmary, she encountered Christy Allison in one of the corridors.
“Major Richards!” Christy called out to her, desperately trying to get her attention.
“Whatever it is, it’ll have to wait for now,” she said, leaving the young Sentinel to fend for herself. When she arrived at the infirmary, she was relieved to discover that the door was wide open. A quick look inside the room, however, revealed that Sheri was no longer there. One of the gurneys was also missing. Someone had obviously decided to move her. She muttered a curse in irritation and stormed off in the direction of classroom A.
“What have you done with Sheri!” the major yelled, bursting in through the classroom door. Commander Eldridge was standing at the center of the room, with Veronica seated in a chair right in front of her. A quick glance around the room’s interior revealed that Sheri was nowhere in sight. Veronica had tears streaming down both cheeks, which infuriated Major Richards even more.
“You can go now,” the commander said to Veronica. She then waited for her to exit the room. “Major Richards,” she finally responded, “Sheri Devries is no longer your concern. I’ve assumed full responsibility for her, and transferred her to Cumulus station so she can receive more effective treatment for her injury.”
“You did what?” the major asked in disbelief.
“She’s already on her way, Major. I’ve assigned my personal shuttle to transport her. You really needn’t be concerned about this. Cumulus is our most advanced medical center. She’ll be in very capable hands there.”
Yeah, the major thought, still questioning her motives, but it’s also our most advanced research facility. Realizing there was nothing more she could do for Sheri now, she shifted her focus to another concern. “Just what are you hoping to accomplish here, Commander. I’m not buying this story about investigating Robin. There’s something else going on underneath all this subterfuge. If you were really all that concerned over the safety of Robin’s girls, you wouldn’t have risked moving Sheri in her current condition.”
“The investigatio
n into Robin’s actions is certainly justified, Major. Her entire squad was nearly killed as a result of her decisions. But you’re right, that’s not the only reason I’m here. I’m after something of far greater importance to us. You see, in successfully passing through the center of Pangea, Captain Starling and her crew managed to accomplish something which has long been considered to be virtually impossible. What we want to know is how they did it, so we can try to duplicate it to our advantage. And also, we need to reassess the likelihood of enemy ships finding a way through there as well.”
“That’s it?” the major said, sounding underwhelmed. “That’s what all of this posturing is about?”
“This is important information, Major. I should think that you, of all people, would realize that. Or have you forgotten about that shipyard you blew to pieces? Just think how many Sentinels would have been killed if we hadn’t found out about that facility. And to be a little bit more to the point, we have no idea what else might be concealed behind Pangea. If there are any more shipyards or other threats hiding back there, we need to locate and neutralize them.”
“But why all the secrecy?” Major Richards asked. “Why didn’t you just tell me this right from the beginning?”
“What secrecy?” the commander countered. “If you wanted to know, all you had to do was ask. Honestly, Major, I think you’re allowing your imagination to get the best of you.” The lights suddenly dimmed, indicating evening hours. She stepped around the major and started walking toward the exit. “I need to go get some coffee,” she said. “I still have a lot of work to do.”