by J Battle
All he needed was someone to celebrate with. He had been born in 2030, so when he returned to The Solar Union, any surviving contemporaries would have to be close to 170 in age and, as far as he knew, no-one had so far gone beyond 150.
He thought about the people he'd known; now long dead, but he couldn't really claim to miss any of them.
Perhaps, even if they were here now, he would still feel separate and alone.
So deep within his morose musings, he almost didn’t notice when she walked in to the bar. Tall and slender, in tight blue jeans and a light blue man’s shirt, clinched at the waist with a brown leather belt, and with her blonde hair cropped so short it was little more than fuzz. As she settled in a seat a little way along the bar from him, Dan found himself staring at her in the mirror.
There was a long moment before he realized that she was staring right back.
Chapter 8
Jashna was in a part of the ship where his presence might have caused some concern, but there was no-one about and he’d developed an appropriate relationship with the ship’s AI; more of a master /servant relationship than one of equal partners. There was no danger of STEPH reporting him; not with the weight of The Galactic Confederation behind him.
The ship’s arsenal was a dark, unpleasant place, filled with the potential for death. Jashna planned to do something about that potential.
With the less than enthusiastic aid of the AI, it was the job of only a few minutes to disable the payloads of all of the level one and level two weapons, leaving them little more effective than the cannonballs of a bygone era.
‘The corridor is occupied,’ The AI informed him, just as he was about to open the hatch.
‘Where are they going?’
There was no response from the AI.
‘Where are they going, STEPH?’ Jashna tried.
‘They are approaching the arsenal; the arms-master and his juniors.’
Jashna stepped back into the darkness and adjusted the phase of his shudder wings, extending the light twisted region to cover his whole body. In these low light conditions, he was effectively invisible.
‘STEPH, stand the weapons systems down,’ barked the arms-master, in Low Hru-argh; the language of the lower castes.
‘We won’t be needing them now.’ He thrashed his stumpy tail from side to side in frustration.
‘I was anticipating some action, Sir,‘ said one of the youngsters, quietly as he stepped away from his master.
‘Not this time, grunt, but that reality will approach, hear my words.’ The arms-master announced, portentously.
As they were speaking, Jashna sidled past them and through the open door.
‘What is happening?’ he hissed at the AI as he rushed along the corridor to the control deck.
‘You are too late, Jashna-del, the Captain has already left the ship. His second in command has taken over.’
‘Why?’ He emerged into the wide open space of the control deck.
There was no response from STEPH.
'Why, STEPH?' he sighed.
Ardylle bobbed towards him.
‘Welcome, Lord Jashna,’ e said, his tail hanging to one side as his droppings seemed to fall everywhere. His two sub-dubs were soon on the case.
‘What’s happening? Where is the Captain?’
‘You are speaking to the Captain, Jashna, and more respect is due.’
‘Alright, Captain. If your lordship considers it worthwhile, please explain the situation to your humble interlocutor.’
‘Better.’ He leaned closer to Jashna, and sniffed. ‘I can already smell the disappointment on you.’
Jashna felt his simmerglow rising. Ardylle had better explain the situation very quickly, or there would be consequences.
'It has been decided that this particular ship will not form part of the attack squadron for this engagement, so our illustrious former Captain has left to take over a new command that will lead the attack.'
'Squadron? The council's instructions were very precise on the number of ships that would be allowed to engage in this action.'
'The council is a long way from here, Jashn-del, with the corresponding waning of their influence. When they discover our methods of imposing our will, it will all be over; a fact, real and unquestioned. They will accept.'
'The council will not brook such disobedience.'
'Splutter and gutter will cause us no harm.' The old phrase was spoken in a sing-song voice.
'I, also, will not allow such an action against the interest of the Confederation.'
'Splutter and gutter, furry bird. Why don't you watch the engagement, here from the deck?'
'I'll not watch it, I'll stop it. I'm taking over the ship.' Jashna stepped away from the new Captain. 'Ship, set ready to depart for the environs of Tau Ceti E. All level four and five weapons to be made ready for use. Instructions from anyone but myself to be ignored. Confirm and acknowledge.'
His instructions were met by silence.
'Confirm and acknowledge...STEPH.'
Ardylle strutted closer to him. 'Confirm and acknowledge, STEPH,' he said, watching Jashna all the time.
'Yes Captain. Instructions confirmed and acknowledged. Ship to stand down and remain on station until further instructions received from authorized individuals.'
'Those authorized individuals; can you name them for us, please STEPH?' Ardylle was having just so much fun. He was keeping his sub-dubs very busy.
'Captain Ardylle, Second officer Muskry, Arms-master Doooll.'
'Not the honorable representative of The Galactic Confederation Council, Jashna-del?'
'No, Captain.'
Ardylle tapped Jashna on the back with the tip of his tail.
'An integral part of any plan is the implicit failure, Captain Tyndell always says.'
'Override code 77177177349 - ship confirm and acknowledge.' The simmerglow was already building, despite the suppressants he'd taken.
'Override code not accepted. This is sovereign Hru-argh territory and, as such, is not subject to Confederation law.' The AI's words did nothing to dampen the surge of power filling every cell in his body.
'Take the honorable representative to his room, ensure comfort and restricted movement. Now!'
Two officers appeared, rushing through the entrance hatch towards their putative prisoner. They were big and strong and armed.
Jashna took no notice of them, or of anything else.
The simmerglow was on him, and nothing else mattered. Perhaps the suppressants did more to lessen his control than they did to reduce the urge to release the power of the simmerglow. Or perhaps he just didn't care.
The guards took two steps into the control deck before they were each reduced to their constituent molecules by the blast that erupted in the center of the deck. The blast destroyed all living beings onboard and tore the fabric of the ship into microscopic fragments that flashed away in every direction at a significant percentage of light speed.
All that was left was the stunned figure of Jashna, tumbling gently as he floated midway between the great disc of Tau Ceti and its 5th world.
After an age, the seemingly lifeless body stirred. He lifted his head and looked around him, getting his bearings. He could feel his skin thickening to protect him from the hard radiation that washed over him; his lungs shut down as they were no longer required, and the blood slowed in his veins. Silently, he spread his wings and smiled as he felt them grow, visible and beautiful, iridescent in the unshielded light of the sun.
He could feel the photons striking the sensitive surface of his wings, pushing him and feeding him, raising his senses to their natural level.
When he was ready, he tilted his wings and allowed the tidal wave of light to push him towards Tau Ceti E.
If it had been in his nature, and if space had not been as quiet as the grave, he would have roared his joy to the cosmos at being once again Jashna-del Tay; The Winged Sun God.
**********
When she
smiled at him in the mirror, a strange feeling washed over Dan. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he quite liked it, so he smiled back her.
Then things got a little awkward. What was he supposed to do now? Just carry on with the stupid grin, or get up and, what? Talk to her? Chat her up? Get her ‘phone number? What were the latest rules for dating in the last quarter of the 22nd century?
She made it easy for him by leaving her seat and taking the one next to his.
‘Hi,’ she sort of whispered.
‘Err, hi.’ He knew that if he looked in the mirror he’d see how red his face had gone all of a sudden; like some spotty teenager. ’Can I get you a drink?’
‘If you like,’ she replied, turning her chair to face him, ‘but you really don’t have to.’
‘No, it will be my pleasure. What would you like?’
She held up her half empty glass and wiggled it. It was a simple action, but somehow she infused it with an incredibly erotic flavor.
‘My name is Helen, by the way.’
‘Oh, pleased to meet you Helen. I’m Dan.’
‘Hi Dan.’ She smiled again and, this close, he was getting the full effect. ‘You staying long?’
‘W-what? Sorry, I’m leaving in a couple of days, three days, for home.’
‘That’s just great, Dan. ’Cause I am too.’
‘Excellent.’ Dan cursed himself inwardly at his stupid response. He used to be much better at this, but it had been such a long time.
‘Y’want to hang out while we wait?’
Dan smiled and nodded, not risking his voice giving him away. He was pretty damned sure that ‘hanging out’ was a euphemism for something a lot more interesting. Maybe he wasn’t quite as rusty as he thought.
He downed his drink and waited for her to do the same.
There was something of spring in his step as they left the bar together.
Chapter 9
Stars have their own life cycle, from birth to adulthood to death, spread over periods measured in billions of years.
S-7621LG was such a star, in its early middle years, full of potential and with perhaps five billion years to look forward to before its supply of hydrogen was insufficient to withstand the crushing force of its gravity.
It had only one small rocky satellite where evolutionary imperatives had progressed as high as a simple green moss that clung to vertical rocks above a gently lapping sea. The moss probably thought that it was doing a fair job of nurturing and passing on its DNA, its sole purpose in life, and, given another billion years, its descendants might have risen to such an advanced state that they too could enjoy the wonders of reality TV, fast food and declarations of independence in the form of tattoos/facial piercings and conspiracy theories.
However, all was not well with S-7621G.
There was no-one to witness its demise, as it was situated at the very edge of our Galaxy, with nothing beyond it but dark, empty space. With no-one to observe what happened, can it truly be said to have occurred? The old tree falling in the forest nonsense.
Well, if the moss had a chance to give its opinion, before it was burned from the already glowing rock that was its home, it would have said that, yes, this is really happening.
The star died in a matter of months as the hydrogen that should have fuelled it parsimoniously for billions of years was burned extravagantly as the sun, the previously stable sun, turned nova and incinerated its lonely satellite, and lit up the heavens for its closest neighbors.
This was by no means a natural occurrence; it represented the first touch, the first strike, from creatures of a distant Galaxy.
Before the glory of the new born nova was visible to the nearest system, some 30 light years distant, that star too suffered the same excess.
The sparkling jewels of death spread in a destructive wave across the outskirts of our Galaxy, bringing ever more stars into their company.
**********
Dan sat impatiently in the transit lounge, trying not to watch the time display.
Where was Helen? She should have been here hours ago.
And what about the ship? It was already three hours late, which wasn’t much on a 14 year journey if you were objective enough to look at things that way.
Dan hated to wait; he wanted to walk straight through the waiting area and right on to the passenger liner that would take him home. The time spent in this too comfortable chair was wasted; it achieved nothing, added nothing to his life, and he’d never get it back. And if she didn’t come soon, she’d miss the flight.
He wasn’t quite alone in the transit lounge; there was a lone skinny guy and a family of Teecees that consisted of a short squat father, an equally diminutive mother, and two round balls of energy that he took to be their offspring.
To help him relax, he closed his eyes for a moment and sighed as a vision of his last race appeared. He was on the final lap, charging along the back straight, the opposition already well behind him. He should have felt the pain as his lungs protested and lactic acid threatened to undo his control of his legs; but he didn’t. All he felt was a relaxed joy as he moved in a superlative rhythm, gliding across the track with his three meter strides. He didn’t need to watch the clock as he rocketed towards the finish line; he could hear it in the roar of the crowd as they willed him on.
Together they did it. They created a record that in all likelihood would never be beaten; not now that Earth was lost to them.
He thought about Earth; he’d been lucky; he’d already left on his third trip to Tau Ceti. He was away for nearly 30 years and when he returned, it was already all over. Mankind was diminished, clinging to the inhospitable leftovers of the solar system; the feast of Earth denied to them forever.
One day, perhaps, it might be possible to go back there; but not yet. The last attempt had been made just a few years before, with a robot construct and a guinea pig landing on the east coast of the old USA. The robot had been fine; the guinea pig, not so much so.
His thoughts were interrupted by a heavy hand on his shoulder.
‘So, you’re hoping for a quick escape, I see.’ The voice was oily and familiar.
Dan turned and nodded. ‘Hello, officer,’ he said, ’is this where you arrest me and drag me off in cuffs?’
Sergeant Dune eased himself into the seat beside him.
‘Maybe, Mr. Chance; maybe,’ he said softly, a smile resting, out of place, on his face. ‘Or perhaps I should call you by your correct name? What do you think, Mr. Robinson?’
‘So you do have some investigative skills; well done, officer. You are a credit to your profession. So, did those vaunted skills discover any actual evidence that a crime has been committed? Evidence that might stand up in court, or even get you an arrest warrant.’
‘You don’t need to worry about that, Sir. Not at all. The arrest warrant should arrive, oh, sometime in the next couple of hours, I should think.’ He glanced at his watch.
‘A couple of hours? What a shame; I’ll be well on the way back to the Solar Union by then. Maybe we’ll get together on my next trip; what do you say?’
‘No, I think I’ll just wait for the warrant and arrest you here. The ship won’t be going anywhere soon, you can rely on that. The captain’s an old friend of mine; we go way back. He won’t be leaving until I give the signal.’
‘Very sneaky. And how do you expect to get the warrant? There were no witnesses, and I haven’t even got the ship now.’
‘I have a secured statement from the ship’s AI. It won’t stand up in court of course, but it’ll get me the warrant so that I can detain you while we find the ship and whoever you sold it to. You’ll love our little detention center; it’s planet-side and hot and heavy.’
Dan turned from the policeman at the sound of running feet and panting breath. He looked across the passenger lounge and there she was, and he found that his earlier annoyance at her tardiness had leaked away. She was flushed and worried looking, and her short red dress was probably not ideal tr
avel-wear.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked as he stood up.
‘Robinson!’ Dune also stood.
‘Excuse me officer whilst I make the best use of my last hours of freedom.’ Dan didn’t look at the policeman; his eyes were focused on Helen.
‘We need to talk.’ She looked so concerned that he wanted to hug her.
‘What’s wrong?’ he repeated, moving her away from Dune with one hand on her shoulder.
‘I haven’t got a ticket.’
‘What do you mean, you haven’t got a ticket?’
‘I haven’t got a ticket.’
‘But you must have, you’ve been waiting for days.’
She moved closer and put her arms around him, burying her head in his chest.
‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered.
‘What’s going on?’
‘I haven’t got a ticket, because I haven’t got enough money. I haven’t got any money.’
He closed his eyes for a moment, then he sighed and gently pulled her arms from him.
‘So that’s what the last few days have been about?’
‘No. Don’t say that, I really like you. I just need…some help to get home. I need to get home.’
‘So, what? You expect me shell out for a ticket home for you, because we mean so much to each other?’
She looked away, her shoulders hunched.
‘Well, Lady, let me tell you this, you’ve got that completely…’
There was brief crackling sound from the public address, then a moment of silence. The few occupants of the lounge looked up; waiting for the message with dull resignation.