by M. D. Cooper
Sera paused and smiled at Tanis and Andrews. “Mind you, the last FGT ship left Sol in the late third millennia. You have nearly five-hundred years of technological advances over them—sure the FGT scientists have made some brilliant breakthroughs, but you lived in the golden age. Even without your picotech—and what I suspect Earnest has discovered beneath it—you still possess thousands, maybe millions of advances that no one else has.
“We know this,” Andrews grunted. “You’re getting off track.”
Sera nodded. “Right. I was using it illustrate the state of the human sphere in the beginning of the fifth millennia.”
She cleared her throat and continued. “Many in the FGT’s ranks wanted to help. They sent rescue and assistance missions back into the settled stars and…well, things didn’t go as they’d hoped. Three FGT ships ran into situations like the Intrepid has. Two were destroyed, one managed to come out victorious.
“Following those encounters they pulled back, left terraforming projects half-complete, abandoned their works. They created a buffer between themselves and the rest of humanity—they became isolationists.”
“Wait,” Tanis held up her hand. “Are you saying that there is a second human civilization in the Milky Way? One that is distant enough from the known human sphere of expansion that the bulk of humanity isn’t even aware of it?”
“That is exactly what I’m saying,” Sera nodded. “Mostly. There’s more to tell.”
“Then do tell,” Andrews said.
“While the rest of humanity fell into war and chaos, the FGT advanced—a lot. There were still many elements that wished to help, but no one deemed it wise to attempt a full-scale uplift the of humanity. The result was a corps which infiltrates and guides major political entities within what the FGT calls the Inner Stars.
“That corps is what brought humanity back from the brink. Without them, all the Inner Stars would be desolate wastelands, with the remnants of human civilization scratching out a meager existence on ruined worlds.”
“You are a part of that corps,” Tanis said simply.
Sera cast her eyes to the deck and nodded. “I was.”
“I have to admit, this FGT you describe seems sinister, yet the FGT of our time contained the most altruistic and benevolent of all people, people who were giving their lives to create a home for humanity amongst the stars,” Andrews said.
“Those people are still there, and they still hold to those core values…they’ve just…soured,” Sera replied.
“Wait,” Tanis interrupted. “When you say ‘those people are still there,’ do you mean the same exact people? As in the original crews?”
“Well, they’ve grown a lot, yes, but most of the original crews—at least from the third millennia ships—are still out there, still working.”
Tanis whistled. “That’s incredible. They’re immortal now aren’t they? Are they still mostly biological?”
Sera chuckled. “Yes they are immortal, and still more biological than you, I’d dare say.”
“I’m still human,” Tanis said, her words sounding more defensive than she had intended.
Sera fixed her with a penetrating stare. “Some might disagree with that, but I’ll accept it.”
“I assume that a part of your reticence to share has to do with how you came to leave this corps you spoke of,” Andrews changed the subject.
“It has a big fancy name, but those of us in its ranks just call it The Hand,” Sera replied. “And yes, I was sort of kicked out and exiled.”
“Better that than the eternal humiliation—or being bailed out by my father,” Sera retorted.
“Juicy, perhaps,” Sera replied. “Though not what I’d call good.”
She stood and walked to the small bar in Andrews’ office and poured herself a glass of whisky before returning to her seat.
Tanis was leant forward, elbows on her knees while Captain Andrews reclined. Though his posture was relaxed, of the two he appeared more concerned. Tanis looked...almost excited.
“I lost something. Something very valuable that should never have fallen into Inner Stars hands. It’s called a CriEn module.”
“Aha! That’s what you were carrying on the Regal Dawn, wasn’t it?” Tanis asked triumphantly.
“It was,” Sera nodded. “It’s a zero-point energy module.”
“I don’t gather what is so special about that.” Tanis said. “We use zero-point energy for backup systems on the Intrepid.”
“You create pocket dimensions and draw energy from those,” Sera replied with a shake of her head. “A CriEn draws power from this universe, and it can operate in both normal space and the dark layer—in fact, I’ve advised Earnest not to utilize your zero-point energy systems while in the dark layer—at least while I’m not within a light-year of you.”
“So somehow you lost that to Kade, and that’s what you’ve been doing in your exile, getting in close to him so you could steal it back,” Tanis said triumphantly and leaned back in her seat.
“More or less,” Sera nodded. “At first I had to figure out who had it. There are a lot of unsavory factions in the Inner Stars, so I decided that becoming a smuggler was the best way to get my feelers into a lot of groups. I eventually tracked it down to Kade. The events you started created the perfect scenario for getting to his base—though it wasn’t in a fashion I would have chosen.
“Though now I can return the CriEn to the corps and…I don’t know…I don’t think I really want to rejoin their ranks again.”
“You can always settle with us,” Tanis replied.
“Speaking of that,” Andrews said. “I assume this world will be in the separate FGT area of space.”
Sera nodded. “They do terraform some worlds closer to the Inner Stars—part of their grand schemes—but neither you, nor they will want the Intrepid colony to settle on one of those. Too close to this mess.”
“What do they call the…the not inner stars?” Tanis asked.
“FGT space is a bubble—well, more of a donut—that wraps around the Inner Stars.” Sera replied. “There are a lot of different regions, but on the whole it’s called The Transcend. Its outer reaches stretch beyond the Orion arm of the galaxy, both spin and core-ward.”
Tanis whistled. “Given that most of the inner stars fit within a thousand light-year wide bubble around Sol, the Transcend must have way more territory.”
“Yes, but it’s much less densely populated,” Sera said. “Though you wouldn’t be the first refugee group to take shelter out there.”
“Orion is only about three-thousand light-years wide,” Andrews said with a frown. “From what I understand about FTL, an average multiplier is five hundred times. That means a three-thousand light-year journey should only take six years. How is it that the bulk of humanity hasn’t spread into the Transcend already?”
Sera coughed. “People do stumble into it from time to time, but it doesn’t happen as often as you’d think. Partly because we foster conflict around the edges of the Inner Stars which tends to stall exploration. A few proxy nations around the fringes also keep the core contained. Galactic north and south, we don’t control many systems and that’s where we let expansion occur.
“At some point we’ll reveal ourselves. We’re just trying to gently uplift the rest of humanity first—we’re trying to prevent another full scale war.”
Tanis couldn’t help but notice how Sera’s use of “they” had long since turned to “we”.
“So, will you rejoin them, then?” Tanis asked, her forehead wrinkling into a frown. “You and Flaherty, I assume.”
“That obvious, is it?” Sera asked.
“Well, he does have the whole
‘protector of the young woman obligation’ thing going on,” Tanis replied. “It’s only logical that he has joined you in your self-imposed exile.”
Sera nodded and was silent for a moment. “I don’t know if I’ll even be wanted—though if I know my father, I’m likely to be summoned before the throne. The fact that he hasn’t sent anyone to take me home—recently, mind you—is almost surprising.”
She looked to Andrews, and then to Tanis.
“So there you have it, my big secret. Given that I’m on a ship that has picotech and stasis shields, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.”
Tanis stood and stretched. “I don’t even know what it would take for anything to feel like a big deal anymore.” She paused. “Wait…what was that about your father and a throne?”
REPERCUSSIONS
STELLAR DATE: 10.30.8927 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ISS Intrepid, Outer System
REGION: Bollam’s World System, Bollam’s World Federation
Sera and Tanis were taking a break from staring at scan updates—wondering when the new AST fleet would show up—in the officer’s wardroom. Tanis was working her way through her second BLT and Sera was enjoying a bowl of strawberries.
“I don’t know how you eat the same thing over and over again,” Sera said with a chuckle.
Tanis shrugged. “When you find a winner, stick with it. Besides, you’re the one who has only eaten strawberries for three days now.”
“No one has had a strawberry in four-thousand years! Damn skippy I’m going to eat them. I’m going to eat a bowl of strawberries every day for the rest of my life,” Sera said with a laugh.
“Well, then at least you’ll lose the high ground for mocking me over my BLT.”
“For such interesting people, you have the most boring palettes,” Terrance said with a smile as he sat.
His plate was filled with a cornucopia of foods; more than any one person should even conceive of enjoying in one sitting.
Sera popped another strawberry in her mouth and smiled, showing off her red teeth. “Mock me all you want. I’m in heaven.”
Terrance shook his head and addressed Tanis. “I hear the FTL systems are nearly in place.”
Tanis nodded. “Abby has people working like machines, and the machines working like…well…better machines. She’s already done a few simulations and has just a few more tweaks to make before we’ll be good to go.”
“This,” Terrance said around a mouthful of salad. “This is not something that surprises me at all. That man doesn’t even know about the word, ‘impossible’ let alone that it means he couldn’t do a thing.”
Tanis laughed and nodded.
“So what do you think is up with Aurora?” Sera asked. “Why would they combine two gas giants and then not start up a brown dwarf?”
Terrance nodded. “Just one sufficiently large comet strike and that thing will light right up—and this system is brimming with comets.”
“You know your stellar physics,” Sera nodded appreciatively.
“I did fund a colony ship to travel to another star—though these days I guess just about anyone who could afford to start a small business could get a starship and travel to more stars than I ever imagined seeing…”
Tanis smiled. Every now and then Terrance showed that he was really just a romantic underneath. She was pretty certain that he was enjoying the Intrepid’s grand adventure.
“Doesn’t it seem suspicious,” Thompson said as he picked an apple from the fruit basket, tossed it in the air and then took a bite. “That the captain just happens to have the right tools at exactly the right time to get the job done?”
“What do you mean?” Cheeky said after she had set her plate down at the table and popped a strawberry into her mouth. “These will never get old. Nothing on the Intrepid is worth as much as the fact that they have the only strawberry plants in the universe.”
“Do you ever think of anything other than sex and food?” Thompson asked.
“Of course I do, you haven’t died in a space accident, so I suppose I must think of piloting from time to time.”
“Touché.” Nance grinned at Thompson.
“So what do you mean about the captain?” Cheeky asked.
“I dunno, seems like some things are just a bit too tidy. Like, who has the plans to outfit a ship the size of the Intrepid with grav shields. Do any of you even have the slightest idea how to build a graviton emitter?”
Sabrina offered.
“Besides you.” Thompson said.
“Would you have been able to just whip out the plans for an FTL and grav shield system for a ship like the Intrepid?” Thompson asked.
Sabrina gave the mental equivalent of a shrug.
“Exactly my point. No one has a need for those specs. There aren’t any ships this big. No ships, thus no specs for things non-existent ships would have.” Thompson said.
“What was bigger?” Nance asked.
“Are you kidding me?” Cheeky asked. “Sera had plans for grav systems for a ship twice the size of the Intrepid? You sure there aren’t ships that big?” she asked Thompson.
“Not that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been around,” Thompson replied. “Worked on an ore hauler or two that are larger, but those don’t go FTL—they can’t, based on what we all thought we knew. Trust me, if the AST could make bigger warships, they would. Intrepid’s the biggest interstellar ship there is.”
No one spoke and Cheeky grabbed a few more strawberries.
“You know,” Nance said eventually. “I overheard Sera say on more than one occasion that the Intrepid was the most valuable ‘available’ ship in known space. I wonder what she meant by that.”
“Combine that with the fact that she just happened to know how to get a hold of the FGT.” Thompson added. “How did she pull that off?”
“Probably with whatever she has in her quarters that need that massive power line she has run up there.” Nance said.
“That doesn’t mean anything.” Thompson said, his cheeks reddening slightly.
“It’s able to handle a lot more load than yours,” Nance gave a coy smile, which caused Thompson’s blush to deepen. “And for the first time since I’ve been on the ship it actually made a draw from the reactor.”
“When?” Cheeky asked around a strawberry.
“A few days ago,” Nance said. “It shifted the base frequency in our mains and I had a pump go all squirrely.”
“Around when she was supposedly sending a message to the FGT,” Thompson said.
“Well, she had to transmit it somehow,” Cheeky shrugged. “Good to know she actually did it.”
“You’re missing the
point,” Thompson said.
“You have a point?” Cheeky responded with a lewd gesture and was surprised to see Nance blush before darting her eyes to Thompson. Cheeky passed Nance an impressed look.
Thompson missed the exchange of looks. “Haven’t you been listening? She contacted the FGT with her super-secret radio! No one contacts the FGT. If it weren’t for newly terraformed planets showing up every now and then, no one would even believe they still existed.”
“Okay, so you’ve got a point,” Cheeky grinned. “But we’ve always know that Sera is a little more than just some freighter captain.”
“We have?” Thompson’s expression skewed from anger to confusion.
“Yeah, I mean, there was that time that she got the Pavnan government to pardon her on what should have been murder charges, and then grant her the license to export their rare blue diamonds.” Cheeky said.
“And the time that she refused to pay ‘protection’ money on that station out in the Targes Dominion then ended up discovering systemic corruption through the entire station and exposed the whole thing,” Nance added.
“Didn’t she get a commendation from the planetary government for that?” Cheeky asked.
“That I remember,” Thompson said.
“And don’t forget about Helen,” Cheeky continued and Sabrina made an affirmative sound.
“What do you mean?” Nance asked.
“You and Thompson may not have noticed ‘cause you don’t work with Helen very much, but she is super evolved. A lot more than any other AI on this ship,” Cheeky said.
“Hey!” Sabrina said audibly.
“I hate to say it Sabrina, but you know it’s true.” Cheeky said.
Sabrina replied sullenly.
“Even smarter than Angela?” Nance asked.