by Aaron Dennis
“I-I know, and I am ready to die, but they were my men. They were my friends. I could have done better with more Intel….”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, son,” Lay retorted. “If you had all the proper Intel, none of you would have done as well as you did.” O’Hara fidgeted and frowned. He obviously didn’t appreciate the remark. “Buck up. I’m going to check on the crew,” the admiral responded and left.
The captain breathed in the cool air of Eon. He was rattled, in disbelief. Lay’s comments made no sense, and as he looked at Humans, Thewls, the young and the experienced, he knew he wasn’t alone in missing former teammates, but neither was he alone in the war for survival.
Chapter Twenty
Camp was set up between the ships. Questions regarding the odd vessel arose, but O’Hara maintained it was nothing special. His old crew was glad to hive him back, and even happier to finally have a meet and greet with Thewls.
Day and Roberts met up to discuss recent events. Nandy and Swain stuck around their new Thewlish friends while occasionally chastising the scientists for a lack of manners. Conversations revolved around missing crewmembers, the Lokian threat, and what the future held.
Hours into R and R, and O’Hara felt both relieved and exhausted. Glossing over recent tribulations wasn’t his thing, so he told everyone to bug Fitzpatrick and DeReaux. The two didn’t seem to mind anyway.
Chilly winds had settled over the area, making golden and reddish foliage dance. Thick, black shadows reached across the ground. Everything was as close to pleasant as possible, homey, even.
Admiral Lay came from the Phoenix, Yon trailing behind him. The captain looked from him to the agents. They were relaxing in chairs, but remained silent, stoic.
“Glad to see you join us, Sir,” O’Hara said.
“Even this old, Navy dog enjoys some down time,” Lay smiled.
“Everything alright?” the captain glanced at Yon, who was trying to get away from Humans, albeit politely.
“Everything’s fine,” he replied, and motioned with his head to walk. They went just out of earshot. “Are you ready for this?”
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
“No…I suppose you don’t. I won’t lie to you, son, if you fail, we’ll probably have to leave Eon colony to fend for itself while we protect others, like the Alpha colonies.”
“Why? Why would you abandon a new colony and its people?”
“Don’t you see,” Lay chuckled. “There aren’t many people here, but the other colonies, the Alphas, Century…even Earth; they’ll need help to stave off an invasion. Let the Lokians take Eon, and let the Thewls and Yvlekesh handle it.”
O’Hara was in disbelief. Why Lay was acting so calloused was beyond his comprehension. For a second, he stared at the ground, trying to figure out the angle.
“I can’t fail….”
“No.”
“You have to protect our home world, make sure it isn’t destroyed, because if it is, we’ll wind up a fraction of our race.”
“Like what’s happened to Thewls. I’m glad you get it. Say, there’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
They made the walk back to the Phoenix. O’Hara overheard Roberts and Day. They held hands and expressed their grief, wishes, and recent adventures. Roberts smiled and saluted her superiors. The admiral didn’t so much as glance her way, but the captain saluted; he missed his old squad. They were analogous to simpler, happier times.
Just inside the loading zone, sitting by a table laden with food and drinks, a middle aged, black, captain stood and saluted. Lay returned it. O’Hara and Captain Bragg looked each other over.
“You must be the young O’Hara,” Bragg said as he held his hand out.
O’Hara shook hands. Bragg’s skin hung a little off his face, making his throat jiggle from the pleasantries. He had the appearance of a battle hardened man. His gray stubble and wrinkled eyes gave him a subtle air of malevolence countered only by his clean, warm smile.
“Yes, Sir. Good to meet you. How’s the ship holding up,” O’Hara asked.
“Quite well, I must say, though I’d love to hear about your travels if you don’t mind.”
“Uhhh,” O’Hara faltered as he was unsure where to begin.
“If I may,” Korit interjected.
He stood and walked over to Bragg. They, too, shook hands.
“You are…? I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Always been bad with names. That’s why us Humans got these name tags,” he added and laughed.
“Korit. I led my own team before joining the captain. I was there most every step of the way.”
“Fire away, Korit. I’d love to hear the story from someone else’s perspective,” O’Hara remarked.
Korit emerged as a wonderful storyteller. His lack of tone was contrasted by his dramatic timing and subtle mimicry. Drinks were passed around and both men and Thewls appreciated the spirits. The aliens had never imbibed alcohol, but that night, while recounting tribulations and giving homage to dead friends, they knocked back a few in a very Human fashion.
Eventually, everyone made their way outside. Someone even started a little fire. Korit’s words were remarkably articulate as he told of their initial meeting. He explained the search on Marduk, the recovery on Sahagun, and terrible stories of the Lokians. O’Hara listened intently as everyone spoke, but something played at the back of his mind. He looked over at Day, who was drinking a glass of wine with Flem and Fitzpatrick.
She caught his glance and excused herself, an obvious sign. O’Hara smiled to himself before sneaking from camp. He caught up to Day by a small hill.
“Care for a walk, Miss Day?” he asked with a smile.
“Love to, Mister O’Hara,” she replied and took his arm.
“That’s Captain O’Hara,” he joked. She laughed and hit him softly in the ribs. They walked a little ways, just far enough from prying eyes. “I’ve been thinking about us, when we used to be together…I realize we’ve been through quite a bit more now.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Riley.”
“I think I do…Sara, I don’t think I can bear to lose you.”
“You’re not suggesting I stay away from this mission?!”
“What? No! We can’t even pilot that space cat. No…no, what I was saying is, um, that,” he was having trouble getting his feelings out. She looked at him, expectantly. “I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend again, I’m asking that you always be my friend, my rock, the one who makes me be the best person I can be….”
He took her hands, interlocked fingers, and kissed her. Her sweat aroma, warm embrace, gorgeous eyes, and consideration were everything he needed. His determination, compassion, and selflessness were her inspiration.
“Riley...I’ll always love you. You know that. I can’t bear to lose you, either, and you’re right; the battles—this journey—it’s helped us forge a relationship that will stand the test of time. We may have our ups and downs, but I’ll always be your rock,” she said and placed her forehead to his shoulder.
O’Hara felt a wave of emotion envelope him. In a very real way he saw events unfolding before his eyes. Some of the events were very unpleasant, others were peaceful, but only one was right. He searched his soul. They made love under gray clouds that night.
Back at camp, DeReaux polished off quite a bit of wine himself and noticed two crew members missing. “I think maybe ze’ captain and Miss Day have gotten themselves lost,” he said with a mock French accent and laughed.
Fitzpatrick elbowed him and laughed, too. “I think we could all use a little getting lost tonight,” she fired back and downed a shot of bourbon.
While Adams and Franklin avoided drinking, they chuckled at the crew’s behavior. They even took bets on who was going to score that night. Admiral Lay leaned over, behind their chairs, and when he spoke, they nearly jumped out of their skins.
“Whoa,” he chuckled. “I didn’t think you two were so jumpy.”
<
br /> “Cheesy crackers,” Adams snipped.
“Frank and beans,” Franklin gasped.
“I was saying, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in your shoes, and I wanted to tell you two to lighten up. Life is short…precious, and you only get one chance to make of it what you want.”
They noticed the scent of alcohol on his breath. He wasn’t drunk, though, buzzed, maybe, and he smiled before patting their backs. They exchanged a look.
The agents, naturally, knew about Admiral Lay’s ties with The Bureau. Prior to his ascension to admiral, he had been a young captain. During that time, undisclosed battles in space and pirate activity on the colonies were a rampant problem. Much of that information was hidden away in order to make the history lessons on space travel seem flawless and romantic, but there had been a dirty side to colonization.
The drunk Thewls, their inhibitions gone, decided to take a moment and show something they held sacred. Jor-Tune was the first to stand. He called everyone’s attention. Then, he abruptly took a step forward. He shifted his weight and leaned back almost so far as to fall over. The Humans didn’t know what to make of his shenanigans, until others joined. The Thewls were dancing. Korit and Flem even kept a beat by making musical, barking sounds.
When it all subsided, and everyone clapped, Korit wandered off, but Nandy followed him. “What’s wrong, friend?”
“I miss my wife. I would like to see her,” Korit said and took a deep breath.
For the first time, Nandesrikahl really understood Thewlian sentiment. He easily distinguished the levels of emotion flowing through Korit. Nandesrikahl didn’t only see color cues, he actually felt Korit’s longing like a punch in the gut.
He was so overwhelmed for Korit’s love of his wife that he placed a hand on the Thewl’s arm. “That love must drive you very hard. You must succeed for her.”
The two men smiled. They had made a bond and Korit told Nandesrikahl about his wife.
“Before all this mess with the Lokians, she was a dancer. We lived happily on a colony; though, happily may be a misleading word. Naturally, we both longed to see the end of the Lokians, see a true return to our culture. Nevertheless, she kept our culture alive with her dancing. Her parents had passed it on to her, as their parents had done. One day, perhaps, I will pass it on, too.”
As they spoke, DeReaux strutted by them, a lady beneath each arm. “What?”
They didn’t say anything but watched him march into the traveler vessel. Then, Fitzpatrick’s voice thundered from the party.
“Anyone lonely tonight?” she yelled with arms raised overhead as booze spilled from a cup. “I’m lonely! You, pretty girl, come keep me company!”
They all laughed. Word was not only did the girl want a shot at her, but her male friend did, too.
Chapter Twenty One
The following morning came abruptly for the spec ops team. All the members of the crew woke simultaneously with a feeling of urgency. The traveler quite simply snapped them awake. It was time to get moving; migraines, nausea, nor fatigue were his concern.
O’Hara ran off to find the admiral. The old man was conversing with Bragg just outside the Phoenix. Groans and snores sounded all around.
“Just go get that ship and come back in one piece, son,” Lay said. Laughing, O’Hara asked if that was really it. “I need your friend, Yon, to stay behind and help build relations. She’ll be indispensable in communicating with the Carrier as well as transitioning the colonists into a multi-racial society,” Admiral Lay explained.
“Copy that.”
O’Hara relayed the message to Yon. At the end of the exchange, the admiral took it upon himself to wake the rest of the Phoenix’s crew. They all pitched in to dismantle camp, so O’Hara dashed past Yon on his way to the traveler ship.
With everyone onboard, Day connected and shot off the ground. The rest stood there, looking at each other. Some of them ate or quietly talked about the previous night.
“So, now we wait in orbit,” Swain asked.
“That is one approach,” Jor-Tune said.
Nandy shot him a look. He knew the Thewl had been sarcastic, which made him chuckle.
“There are systems the Lokians stake out. In fact we may be able to go to our old, home world,” Flem suggested.
“I thought the Lokians destroyed it like eighty years ago or something,” Fitzpatrick remarked.
“Well, we might as well start there and work our way out,” Korit replied.
Day was on her own, no guiding hands, eyes, or otherwise. She took deep, slow breaths and worked her way through the ship’s systems. She found the Thewlian, home world in a data archive. After honing in on its location, she activated the warp drive. The ship rocketed out of Eon’s orbit.
It was a fantastic experience, a thirty second thrill ride through space and time, after which, the ship emerged on the other side of the space-time tube in a vast expanse of darkness. Peering through the ship’s perspective, she saw a damaged satellite listing by.
“I wonder what that does,” she murmured.
“What what does,” O’Hara asked.
“There’s a busted satellite out here.”
“Grab it, get it inside,” Swain clapped.
“Uh, okay…let me see….”
It took her only a moment to locate a tractor beam, which protruded from the cat’s head. By releasing a simple, electron field, Day engulfed the object then pulled it in. everyone heard a clang ring through the vessel; the satellite had struck the fuselage. Frowning, she rummaged through more programs before finding a secondary bay door.
“Okay, hold on.”
First, she regulated pressure and lockout systems. Next, she opened the bay door, and she finally brought the satellite inside. Once secure, she re-pressurized, and set off through the expanse in search of the Thewlian, home world.
“It’s in, so you guys can check it out.”
“Roger that, Miss Day,” Swain said.
He invited others to inspect the item. Jor-Tune and Korit were intrigued. When they ran off to have fun, the captain asked what was out there. She explained that all she saw was an immense, frozen rock, not unlike Marduk. Beyond the rock, were other planetary bodies. It dawned on her then that with the sun being out, there shouldn’t have been any light with which to see planets, yet there they were.
Beyond them was another object. It was difficult to tell how big, or what color, or much at all, but like highlighting a touch screen, she managed to hone in on the shape, and bring it in to focus. A tinge of sadness accosted her when she realized the black ball was the sun.
“Anything,” O’Hara asked.
“Nothing, Captain,” Day frowned.
While Day spent time navigating through data, Phoenix Crew members relaxed and examined bits of their own data from the previous night.
“What are you smilin’ at, Frenchy,” Fitzpatrick asked.
DeReaux had a cheesy grin. He didn’t reply, but comically raised and lowered his eyebrows. She laughed and sat on the ground next to him.
“You had some fun, too, didn’t you? I can tell,” he stated.
She shook her head but neglected to answer. Suddenly, Nandesrikahl burst into laughter; he was on fire that day, reading people like books. The agents, who sat cross-legged with the backs of their heads against the wall of the bridge, stirred when Nandy laughed.
“Something’s funny,” Adams said.
“Apparently,” Franklin agreed.
“How shall I put it,” he said. “Some of the crew bears the glow o’ release.”
Day blushed beneath the helmet, but didn’t say anything; she was preoccupied with exploring her ship’s data. After a moment, she grew irritated. Practically everything that had to do with plots, coordinates, travel, and space-time had a file, but what she wanted was a defined section of space rife with Lokian activity.
****
The crew spent the next few days roaming around the galaxy. The satellite they pulled in didn�
��t reveal anything helpful, but Swain enjoyed using his newfound talent. The fact that it was disabled made it easy to dissect the components used in its creation.
Korit and the other Thewls became a little nostalgic, homesick. They longed for the day when peace might finally come to the galaxy, a day they might pick a new planet to colonize. While they tossed around ideas trying to get more help from the traveler, the rest of the crew made time to settle into the ship.
Adams and Franklin searched the armory, hoping to find the suits of light the ambassador had mentioned. Instead, they found a handful of outdated, plasma weapons. The medical lab was something else. Neither Adams nor Franklin were shocked to see its contents, though. Adams ran his hands along the smooth glass of a very large canister. There were some lining the lab’s wall, all attached by metal contraptions running the length of the ceiling.
“Remember these,” he asked.
“If only I could forget. My God…the pain,” Franklin commented.
“Still, I think it was worthwhile….”
“Getting marooned was not.”
“No…no it wasn’t,” Adams whispered.
****
Furniture and niceties were lacking throughout the ship. Travelers had no use for any luxuries or creature comforts. By the time everyone started getting antsy—wondering if there were any clues—Nandesrikahl suggested they try going back to Sahagun.
“Since the Lokians attacked Sahagun, they must have been trying to find the travelers. Logically, they wanted to destroy them in order to achieve galactic control. They probably didn’t expect a Thewlian presence. If we return, we may find them employing a similar strategy,” Nandesrikahl said as he held his fingers to his chin in thought.
“Doubtful,” DeReaux snipped. “If what you’re saying is true then they probably regrouped and attacked again after we left, probably destroying the whole planet and all the travelers there.”