“What the hell just happened? And what are we aboard? And how?”
He could hear the panic in her voice.
“This is my apartment,” he said, waving his arms around. “You asked me where I am from, this is it for the moment, but now let me answer your real question as to where I am from.”
Without giving her a chance to ask a question, he jumped them both to an observatory lounge.
It was empty except for a few folding chairs. The room was large enough to hold banquets in it and one entire wall was clear and looked out over the Earth below.
He could feel her starting to get faint and he instantly helped her sit in a chair and pulled up another beside her, slightly facing her as she stared out at the planet Earth below.
Then she shook her head and looked around and then back at the fantastic view of the planet below. Then she said, “I thought it had all been a dream.”
“Excuse me?” he asked.
“I was in a room like this one a number of days after the Event,” she said, looking at him. “It was crowded with all of us from the surface and it smelled of death. The fine people on the ship were trying to give us help and food. They said they got us out of the way of a second electromagnetic pulse and then would put us back, but most of us would never remember. I remembered.”
“Oh, my,” he said. He was more stunned than he wanted to admit. He had expected she would be in panic and it would take help to calm her down.
She turned and looked at him. “So it wasn’t a dream? That actually happened?”
He nodded. “It was a massive rescue operation from a thousand planets in this galaxy to save as many after the first Event as they could. From my understanding, they saved everyone who was alive from the second wave.”
She nodded. “That’s what they said. I remember clearly.”
She went back to looking at the Earth below and they sat silently for a few minutes. He was doing his best to try to figure out the next step.
Then she turned to him and said, “You promised to tell me where you are from.”
He pointed off to the right and said, “I was born four hundred and ten years ago on a planet much like the one below orbiting a sun in a small cluster galaxy that is a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way.”
She blinked, then said, “I always knew I liked older men.”
It took him a moment, then he laughed.
And she smiled, which was something he hadn’t expected this soon.
ELEVEN
“SO EXPLAIN ALL this,” she said, sweeping her arm around at the large banquet room with a wall that had a view to die for of Earth below. “Start by telling me what this ship is all about.”
She needed some answers and she needed them quickly before she started making up stuff she didn’t want to think about. And she could feel a lot of anger just boiling below the surface.
“The name of this ship is the Home Stand,” Gage said. “From my understanding, about three-hundred-thousand people live and work on this ship.”
“Wow,” she said, stunned. “Bigger than most cities.”
“It is huge,” he said. “I’ve been on board for under a year and haven’t even seen a tiny fraction of it.”
“And what’s it doing here?” she asked, trying to keep her mind focused on getting answers one at a time before she totally went crazy.
“It’s one of five Seeder ships that are stationed here to try to help your planet recover from the Event. All are shielded from any kind of detection. No one in any of your forming governments knows anything about the ships here helping.”
“Seeders?” she asked.
“Long story,” he said. “How about we go back to my apartment and I’ll get you something to drink and we can talk there.”
She nodded to that and let him help her up. She loved his touch, the solid feel of his hands, and she really loved how he felt against her and how he made her laugh.
And the memory of being in a room like this one was there as well, and the kind people who had helped them all.
But she needed answers.
A lot of them.
A moment later they were in his apartment and he sat her on one side of a large couch. There was a blanket on one side, and as he said, his apartment was full of books and computers as was hers, and what looked to be a couple half-eaten dinners on an end table. Typical bachelor.
It looked like he sometimes slept on the couch facing a wide screen on one wall. She had done her share of falling asleep watching a movie as well and just not bothering to go to bed.
“I have water, fruit juice mix, and water,” he said.
“Water,” she said.
“Good choice.”
He vanished through an archway to the back of the living area. She loved watching him walk and the way he moved. Even after this surprise, which she should have realized wasn’t a surprise after this morning’s rescue, she was still focused on him.
She needed to clear her mind and ask a lot of questions before this went too much farther.
A few moments later he came back carrying two glasses of water with ice.
He handed one to her and then sat on the couch, turned to face her. She took a sip and the fresh, cold water helped clear her mind a little more.
“So what are Seeders? Aliens?”
“All Seeders are humans,” Gage said, smiling. “I’m human in case you were wondering.”
“Thank heavens for small miracles. Alien sex would be a little kinky even for me.”
He laughed, then set his glass on the small coffee table in front of the couch, pushing away a few books to find room.
“Humans on any planet always believe that they are the only race in the galaxy,” Gage said. “And actually, that’s true. Most galaxies are empty of any alien life of any type. So the job of the Seeders is to get a planet ready for human life and then seed human and animal life on that planet and then help the human civilization mature through all the problems.”
She shook her head not really even understanding what he just said.
“Your home world below was seeded with humans and animal life by Seeders,” he said.
“Evolutionary evidence?” she asked, not grasping still what he was saying.
“All planted,” he said. “And then Seeders stick around to help each human culture survive all the problem periods and eventually jump into space.”
“How many planets have the Seeders done this to?” she asked.
He laughed. “I would have no idea. Maybe all the possible planets in a thousand different galaxies. I don’t think anyone knows, honestly, since it has been going on for so long. But the front line of the Seeders finished with the Milky Way Galaxy thirty thousand years ago and has moved on toward all the galaxies around the Andromeda Galaxy. I understand that this galaxy now holds about four hundred thousand human worlds. At least ones that have survived.”
She couldn’t even begin to imagine that scale.
“So have you ever met an alien?” she asked because she flat couldn’t think of anything else to ask.
“There are no aliens that humans in any galaxy interact with. We just leave them alone in their own galaxies and move on.”
She nodded. “So only humans?”
“Only humans,” he said, smiling at her.
Then she remembered he had said he was four hundred plus years old.
“How do you live so long?” she asked.
He shrugged. “When I was recruited as a Seeder because I have some special gene, I just basically stopped aging and I don’t get sick and I learned a bunch of other fun stuff like how to teleport.”
“So Seeders are a giant force of babysitters,” she said, “over younger or hurt societies.”
“Some are,” he said, nodding. “Others are on the front lines preparing planets and doing the hard work of getting human cultures started on new planets. And still others are explorers, going ahead of the front lines to explore galaxies to make sure there are no ali
en cultures.”
“So are all humans Seeders?” she asked.
He laughed and shook his head. “Seeders are pretty rare and are only myths in most human societies. Most Seeders have already moved on before a human culture makes the jump between stars and realizes all that’s out there are other humans. And the Seeders that stay around and help cultures keep their identity secret, as I have to do when we are down in Portland. From what I understand, even the myth of there being Seeders falls away for most cultures after a few thousands of years.”
She just looked into his green eyes, trying to even form another question. Then she remembered this morning.
“So why rescue me?”
“I was assigned to watch you when you left the city and protect you,” he said. “My team, that consists of me and three others, are protecting four others who are considered special.”
“So I’m special?” she asked, not really sure she liked the sounds of that. “Why?”
“Besides all the reasons I find you amazingly special, funny, attractive, and fantastic in bed,” Gage said, “I honestly don’t know. They say that you and I and the other four all have special Seeder genes.”
“So I could become a Seeder and live forever and teleport around?”
Gage shrugged. “I have no idea, actually, but if you are game, I would be up for finding out. My team was never told why we were to protect certain people in Portland, but to just do it.”
She shook her head. “I’m really glad you were there this morning.”
“So am I,” he said, reaching forward and touching her arm.
His touch felt wonderful and calmed her some.
She took another drink of water and put her glass down beside his on the coffee table. “Let’s get more information. My brain is near explosion, but we might as well light the fuse. Realized I wouldn’t be buying any of this if I hadn’t remembered being on the ship before.”
He laughed and nodded and pulled her to her feet.
He touched his ear. “Gage Teal and Angie Park to speak with Chairman Soma if possible.”
He smiled at her and shrugged after a few seconds of silence.
After another moment a man’s voice filled the room. “I would be honored. In my office.”
Gage squeezed her hand and again they jumped to a new place.
TWELVE
GAGE SMILED AT Chairman Soma who still wore sweat pants and a tight body shirt. One thing about running a ship of a few hundred thousand people, you could do what you wanted it seemed if you kept the ship running smoothly and making a profit.
Gage introduced Angie and Soma shook her hand.
“Chairman Soma is in charge of this entire ship,” Gage said. “Seeder ships run as businesses, so the Chairman is the head of the ship instead of a Captain as in a military structure.”
Angie nodded and said, “I like that.”
They remained standing and Soma explained. “I called for Chairman Ray to join us. He is a few galaxies away so will need to make a few jumps to join us.”
Gage just blinked and glanced at Angie, who had her mouth slightly open and her eyes blank even trying to imagine that.
So far she had been amazing in the shock of suddenly finding herself in orbit. Far more amazing than he had been the first time it had happened to him.
But the idea that it would only take a minute for Chairman Ray to travel the distance between galaxies was just stunning to him. And he had been around Seeders for four hundred years.
“So how are you feeling about being on this ship?” Soma asked her.
“I was on a ship like this one once before in the rescue operation,” she said. “So not as much of a shock as it would have been.”
Soma nodded. “We expected as much. Has Gage given you a rough history of the Seeders?”
“He has,” she said, smiling at Gage. “But I have a thousand more questions.”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Chairman Soma said, indicating a desk to one side of his room, “You can learn the history of the Seeders in just a few short seconds while we wait for Chairman Ray.”
Angie looked at Gage and he nodded and smiled. “A quick and fast education system. Doesn’t hurt.”
He had used that system to pick up a lot of extra information on various things, including the entire history of the Event that hit this planet.
She stuck out her tongue at him and moved to the desk.
Chairman Soma just handed her what looked to be normal padded headphones and said, “Put these on.”
She did and then on a heads-up virtual display near her he tapped in a code.
She closed her eyes and Gage just watched her. He had a hunch he would never ever get tired of just watching her as he had done over the last months.
After about forty-five seconds she sighed and removed the headphones.
She looked at Chairman Soma and then at Gage. “Amazing, just amazing.”
He remembered that was exactly how he felt when he was finished with that quick lesson about the Seeders.
At that moment Chairman Ray appeared, smiling.
His long hair seemed to flow down his back and he was still dressed in a black silk shirt and slacks.
“Angie Park,” he said, stepping forward. “it is an honor to meet you.”
“The honor is mine,” she said, bowing slightly.
There had been a little bit about Chairman Ray in the learning, if Gage remembered correctly.
Soma indicated they should all sit and Angie moved toward the couch and Gage stayed beside her. Soma and Ray sat in the chairs facing the couch over a wooden coffee table.
“I imagine this is very overwhelming,” Ray said.
“It is,” Angie said, “but it explains a lot about what happened after the Event when I found myself on one of these ships and also what happened today when Gage saved my life. But what I don’t understand is why me and why now?”
Gage had those exact same two questions.
“Why you is simple,” Ray said, smiling.
Gage was amazed how Ray just radiated control and confidence and calmness.
“You and Gage both have special Seeder genes in your bodies.”
“Genes beyond the normal that it takes to be a Seeder?” Gage asked, surprised he had been included in that sentence.
“Very much so,” Ray said. “And there are four more in Portland at the moment with the same gene. You six are the only ones in this entire part of this galaxy that we have found so far. And to be honest, there are fewer than six more in this entire galaxy and all of them are not in positions of knowledge and abilities that you six have.”
“Not at all sure what that means,” Angie said.
Gage looked at her and shrugged. He felt just as confused.
“It means we have a very special mission coming up that we need the six of you to lead,” Ray said. “And that explains the ‘why now’ of your question. We have been preparing ships for this mission for almost a year. We are within six months of having all preparations complete. We only lack the three special teams to chair the three ships.”
“Mission to where?” Gage asked.
“A very distant galaxy that has not been explored,” Ray said. “I will fill you in on more details once you both have had time to think about this. But I can tell you this, you will be chairman of a very special ship. The fastest and most modern Seeder ship ever built. And over a million people will go in each ship with you.”
“Each of us would have a ship?” Gage asked, feeling very confused.
“No,” Ray said. “The two of you will be Chairmen of the same ship together. It is why the special gene is required.”
Soma nodded and then said to Ray, “The other two teams are coming on board now.”
“Let me guess,” Gage said, “Benny Slade and Gina Helm are one team.”
Ray nodded.
“And Carrie Noack and Matt Ladel are the other two? Those are the four besides Angie my team has been protecting.”
>
Ray again nodded.
Angie looked surprised. “I know and like all four of them. Did any of them know about this ship being here?”
She glanced at Gage who only shrugged.
Soma nodded. “Benny and Gina knew. But Carrie and Matt will be having a similar reaction to yours.”
“But because of the special gene, they will also remember the rescue,” Ray said.
“I would suggest,” Ray said, standing, “that the two of you get some rest and talk about this. And we will meet with the others and make the same offer. Then the six of you might want to get together tomorrow.”
Gage glanced at Angie as they both stood.
Then Gage turned back to Ray. “Just so I am clear, could you summarize this offer one more time?”
“We have built three of the most modern and fastest Seeder ships of all time,” Ray said. “We will give the two of you as a team the chairmanship of one of those ships. Your first assignment will be to travel with the other two ships to a very distant galaxy to explore and discover what is there.”
“Chairmen?” Gage asked.
“Chairmen,” Ray said.
Soma laughed. “Trust me, you will want to take this offer. This is a great job.”
All Gage could do was nod. In four hundred years it had never occurred to him that he would ever be the chairman of his own ship.
Not once.
THIRTEEN
ANGIE FELT LIKE everything since she met Gage at the restaurant has been a dream. She half expected to wake up in her bed cuddled with her two cats.
The wonderful dinner full of laughs, the fantastic sex, the promise of honesty which led her back to the spaceship she remembered after the event.
That ship hadn’t been a dream, but then the offer to basically be the captain with Gage of a massive ship full of people just made her shake her head. She had a slightly different gene. She doubted that qualified her for such a task.
They promised they would talk with Chairmen Ray and Soma in the morning and he teleported them back to the large empty observation lounge overlooking Earth below. It was beautiful, with half the planet in night and the stars beyond it.
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