by Kord Stone
Jason didn’t realize he had been holding his breath throughout the rescue. He gasped for breath now and felt a sense of ease come over him that he hadn’t felt in over a year. His brothers were back.
Alise looked at him and must have known what he needed to hear, because she told him to go be with his brothers when they awoke.
Jason didn’t have to be told twice. In a matter of seconds, he was opening the door to medical and entering. He noted there were now three beds crowded into the medical unit. His brothers were in two of them and the preacher was in the third in a induced sleep. He rushed to stand between his brothers’ beds and held each of their hands and waited. As if on cue, both Jerren and Justin awoke. Within seconds they all began babbling in their special language nobody else could understand.
Jerren looked at Jason then at Justin on the bed across from him and asked, “What just happened?
Jason stood there with tears welling in his eyes. Looking back and forth between his brothers he replied, “You were both dead. This ship is a time machine of sorts, and we just rescued the two of you. Well the whole family actually. Someone was trying to kill all of us.”
Jerren and Justin looked skeptical but allowed him to continue.
“I was mourning the loss of the two of you a few days ago when this ship appeared. The commander of the vessel had been injured and was dying, so he came to Earth to collect his replacement. The commander was an ancient ancestor of ours, and he wanted a family member to take over for him. From what I understand this timeline was messed up, and I was the only acceptable replacement left. After talking with me, Alise—she’s the artificial intelligence on this ship—sent out probes and found that someone was trying to kill off our family line. So we devised a plan to save all of you and make it look as if they succeeded.”
He thought about it a second and said, “I don’t know where we’re headed at the moment. Wherever it is, you should all be safer there than back on Earth.” He ran his hands through his hair and continued. “The killer was creeping around in a suit that greatly resembled some DARPA tech I saw when I was in the service. I can’t think of a reason our government would want us dead. Can either of you?”
Jerren and Justin had pale, shocked looks on their faces, apparently trying to take it all in. They both shook their heads.
Jason asked, “Do you feel like visiting the family? I know Father will be relieved to see you two again.”
It looked like they could hardly believe what he was saying. If it were anyone else saying it, he knew they would have laughed it off. But he was their older brother, and something about the tears in his eyes as he spoke, and the tone of his voice must have told them he was being dead serious. He used to be a practical joker, but after his stint in the military, he seemed to have lost that part of himself.
He tried to instill that this was no joking matter. Both Jerren and Justin stood and approached him. They each placed their hands on one another’s shoulders, and he knew his brothers believed him.
The brothers finally finished their conversation and Jason told them it was time to see the rest of the family. Jason looked over to the preacher, and figured he would deal with him later. Getting his family settled was more pressing to him at the moment. He thought about it a second then asked Alise in mind, How long can we keep the preacher in this state?
There is no set time. I have him in an induced stasis at the moment.
Sighing he gestured for his brothers to follow him, and they did without question. When he took them to the lift, he had planned to do the same as he had with Jeff.
Jerren and Justin looked at each other, and then back at him, then chuckled and said in unison, “What are you up to?”
Jason couldn’t hold back the smirk as he said, “I was just going to give you a thrill ride. With how much you two enjoy skydiving, you should like this.”
Jason let out a chuckle and once he was in place, his brothers joined him and he said, “Ascend level two.”
Jerren said, “Whoa!”
Jason laughed and replied, “See, and you spoiled the surprise.”
* * * * *
The reunion was a joyous one. Upon seeing Jerren and Justin, their father broke down completely and it took almost an hour for him to regain his composure. The room was abuzz. Jason was inundated by one question after the other, most of which he had no idea how to answer, but he answered the ones he could.
In the end it was his aunt who drew everyone’s attention. “Where are we going exactly?”
Jason replied, “You’re all safe for now. We are looking into a few planets, and we’ll let you choose in the end. I won’t have you saying I abandoned you on some god-forsaken rock or forced you to deal with damn dirty apes.” His humor was lost on them and Jason sighed inwardly.
His brothers looked as if they were about to bust a gut, but the rest of the family just stared back at him as if he had gone mad. It was Alise’s giggle in the back of his mind that lightened his mood.
She snorted and said, Now that was funny. I see what you meant when you said that they do not get you.
He snorted and then asked her, Just where have you been for the past couple of hours, young lady?
This time she let out a laugh he thought the whole of the ship would hear. Young indeed! You are such a flatterer. I was staying out of the way and letting you and your family reunite. Also I was looking into other planetary options, she said with an apprehensive tone.
What was wrong with the ones we picked for them to choose from? he asked.
Alise seemed to ponder his question before answering. It looks as if the solar system we chose is going through turbulent solar storms. It is still habitable, but it would be very harsh conditions. The planets Asilada and Breena are closest but there has been trouble in those areas in the last couple of years, dammed space pirates. The Metan Nebula has the best natural camouflage, and there are three inhabitable planets that have friendly civilizations—
The Metan Nebula sounds great. Is there a reason you suggested it last?
It will take three more months at this speed to get there through hostile space, if we do not stop for any reason.
He considered her wording and tone. I’m sensing you would like to stop for some reason. What would that be?
She said, The ship needs to recharge. Our energy stores were almost depleted when we showed up on Earth. Elgon wanted to make sure we were not tracked by any of the races that have knowledge of altered time, so we traveled all the way phased out in a positive two-phased time dilation and that used up a lot of energy. And with how long it took for you to bond with the ship, then rescuing your family…well we used up the reserves Elgon had planned for your trek to the nearest pyramid generator.
The engine is capable of maintaining travel with the energy it gathers at higher speed. But at this speed we will not even get a trickle charge. Only enough to travel at our current speed. The bottom line is that we need to recharge at a pyramid generator for about twelve hours or stay static for six months to fully charge. Without the time dilation or ability to phase jump, we will be defenseless against an attack.
Jason thought on it. Where is the closest pyramid generator? I thought this ship ran on ion and dark matter.
The ship does run on ion and dark matter. We use ion particles as a catalyst between the two, and they can be collected as we travel but at a very minimal rate. The pyramid generators were created to focus a concentrated beam of ion particles into the ship. The closest one is about seven more days from here, but it is through some hostile space and Elgon had made enemies in that region. The next generator is about a month in the wrong direction.
He thought about it a moment and asked, Can’t we just use the pyramid back on Earth?
Alise sighed. Those pyramids are no longer functional. They were destroyed a long time ago by The Eleven. Besides, it would not be safe to return at the moment even if they were functional.
Jason thought about what she just said, and h
e said, Our scientists said the pyramids, were only around five thousand years old.
Alise let out a laugh that Jason thought for sure his family could’ve heard in his head, and she said, Your scientists are clueless about them. They were around far longer than the Lantins had control over these TDS ships. The three great pyramids were destroyed when the Eleven returned to Earth nearly ten thousand years ago. The only pyramids that were built by the humans on earth were the smaller ones. The primitive clans built them in an attempt to have the “gods” return.
Jason, appeased by her explanation, returned to their dilemma. He weighed their options and looked at his guests. They were already getting on each other’s nerves and the decision was made. Let’s get to the closest pyramid generator and hope we don’t run into anyone hostile. It’s not as if the space out here is crowded…right?
Alise hesitated only briefly before saying, Not overly crowded no… Okay the new course is laid in.
Well, we also need to get food so our guests won’t starve. They’re already complaining about being hungry. I wish I’d thought of that before we left. Now Jason wished he hadn’t had tunnel vision about rescuing the family and had planned a little better.
Alise laughed. Uh…I already took care of that.
He stammered, What? When?
She said, When we were rescuing your cousin. While we were in phase for the half second I transported him up, I also transported all of your survival gear, food, and drink to the primary storage room on level two.
He laughed out loud and said, “Now you tell me.”
Everyone turned to him when he said that out loud, and his aunt asked, “Told you what?”
“I have just been informed that we do indeed have food and water onboard. So dinner will be in about two hours if you can wait long enough for me to learn how to cook on this ship.” Jason shook his head and wondered why he hadn’t asked about the food before but instantly realized he had been more concerned with rescuing his family than the aftermath.
Cheering erupted from the room as they heard the news.
He spoke to Alise in mind again. For a minute there, I thought I was going to be one of those stupid people who went to deep space and starved everyone to death.
Alise let out a chuckle. I would not have allowed that to happen.
So how do I cook a meal on this ship? I didn’t see a kitchen.
Alise replied, It is pretty simple, put the items you wish to eat in the raw materials container and tell the computer to store base food materials, and then look at the menu to see what the computer can make. Tell it what you would like, and it will take about a minute to process and prepare. One second… There is a dining room set up in the control-prep corridor. After you choose the meal, it will materialize on the table when it is done. Happy eating.
He thought, That shouldn’t be too hard. Thank you, Alise.
You are most welcome, she replied.
* * * * *
The meal was great. Jason didn’t really feel hungry yet, but it smelled delicious and not wanting to appear impolite, he ate a little as well. He couldn’t believe it was actually made with emergency rations. Everyone said how much he or she loved it, and that he was such a great cook. He didn’t have the heart to tell them all he did was tell the computer to make a Lantin version of lasagna and French bread, and the computer did the rest.
Alise’s voice popped into his head. It was really good…most definitely the best meal I have had in over thirty-seven thousand years. He could hear the laughter in her voice.
Feeling like a heel for not inviting her to dinner he said to her, You should have joined us. Knowing you were eating all alone makes me feel like a cad.
Alise laughed again and replied, I was not eating alone.
Jason felt a wave of jealousy rise within him at the thought that she would have eaten with someone else when it dawned on him, You mean you were dining with me right?
Her laughter was infectious. It went on a few seconds before she said, Yes, I could taste the food as well.
You still should have joined us. Then I could have introduced you to the family.
In time perhaps. She went quiet, leaving the conversation hanging.
Chapter Twelve
Jason loved his family very much, but he could only endure being in enclosed spaces with them for so long. Eventually an argument would ensue, which in turn would give him a splitting headache. Consequently he ended up in his room or on the first level most of the time.
The only exceptions to this were his brothers. Their proximity to him put him at ease, and for some reason the three of them had always known when each other were having bad days, and they tried to run interference to help. Over the last several days his brothers had been putting in overtime, and he really appreciated it. His uncle and half brother seemed to be at the root of most of the arguments, and they would eventually build up until the rest of the family was screaming at each other as well. When Jason tried to defuse the arguments the group would turn on him, and if not for his brothers he may have threatened to do what his father always did on long trips. Don’t make me turn this ship around and take you home!
* * * * *
Alise had arrived in the bedchamber and was not noticed, so she stood there watching Jason. He seemed deep in thought, so she used the time trying to figure out how to proceed with him. After all the diagnostics she had run on her programming, she had finally figured out what was happening to her. She could hardly believe it herself. In the hundreds of thousands of years since coming online in the service of the Lantins, she had never experienced these emotions. It was probably due to the fact she had never been a female escort before.
Prior to this bonding, she had only ever had a non-gendered humanoid or robotic form. With the adaptation to a female body, she must have been imbued with the full range of feminine emotions and hormones, which were now running rampant through her system. They were even more predominant when she was near Jason.
Now that she knew what was happening, she decided she would have to do something about it. She was ready but she feared he did not feel the same as she did. She was about to take a deeper look into his mind to see what he thought of her. She knew he trusted her; the ship made sure of that when it created her body, but did he have romantic feelings toward her? She had just started to peer into his mind when he looked up. His tormented gaze caught her by surprise and prompted her to change her plan.
* * * * *
Five days had passed since they had left Earth, and aside from the family’s bickering, and in his half brother and uncle’s cases, physically fighting, those days had passed uneventfully. He and Alise felt it would be best to keep the preacher in stasis until they figured out just what they were going to do with everyone. They were having enough troubles with the family as it was, and figured the last thing they all needed was to add a stranger into the mix as well. Jason was in his room bored as hell when he sensed Alise’s presence and looked up. She stood there staring back at him with a bright smile and said, “Ahhh…going stir-crazy I see. I have the cure for that.”
“What might that be?” Jason wanted to laugh. Alise seemed to be just like his brothers in the I-know-how-you-feel department.
She gave him an impish smile. “Just follow me. It is a surprise.”
He got up and met her in the middle of the room. She grasped his hand, “Ascend observation,” she purred in a sultry voice.
After they made it through the ceiling, the floor closed beneath them, and they landed with a slight hop in total darkness.
Jason thought, It looks like this ship has many surprises in store for me apparently.
With a hint of a chuckle she whispered, “You have no idea.”
They stood there for about thirty seconds in the inky darkness before the walls slowly became transparent and he gasped in stunned disbelief. The room was fourteen feet square with tapering walls that formed a pyramid-shaped room, and the effect put him in mind of standing in space.
He was looking out into the universe. It appeared to go on forever. It was the most astonishing sight he had ever seen. He could see many types of galaxies in a wide array of colors and stars of varying brightness in the distance.
Jason glanced at Alise, who was watching him in apparent fascination. He looked into her eyes staring back into his and his heart started pounding hard. He was becoming lightheaded and finding it harder and harder to breathe. He didn’t know what had come over him, but he leaned in and kissed her. It was gentle at first, then it had seemed as if a floodgate had opened as raw emotion took over and their kiss deepened. Passion threatened to overwhelm him as a warm tingling coursed throughout his body. Before he completely lost control, he forced himself to regain his composure.
Jason broke from the kiss reluctantly. He was confused and afraid he had just crossed some line. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”
Jason could have died right there. He almost passed out for sure. There were two lounge type chairs in the center of the room and he gestured toward them. “Should we sit down?” He was hoping she would be okay with that because he was about to embarrass himself by hitting the floor. She lay down on one, and he quickly took the other. Both of them reclined back staring out into space, letting what had just happened between them pass in uncomfortable silence.
After a while, Alise continued her explanation. “This room is primarily used to nourish your body by letting you absorb the sunlight from the stars we pass and the free radiation throughout deep space as we travel.” She went on to explain that she would spend days, weeks and sometimes months just staring out at the stars and galaxies, remembering some of the missions she and her former hosts had been on. But lately she did not have the time to relax.
Jason listened intently. A surge of jealousy rose in him that they had gotten to spend so much time with her. Then irritation set in over the fact that they had all treated her as if she were a tool or an accessory on the ship. Maybe he was just odd, but Artificial Intelligence or not, she did have feelings. He said, “I really enjoy being here with you.”