Leaving the Gravity Well
Cain woke up, still sore from the elbow he took to the face during the award ceremony. Ellie slept peacefully beside him. They no longer made any pretense about being together. It was the worst kept secret on the whole ship.
They could be themselves and still be together. Ellie proved that on Heimdall. Cain felt the need to protect her, while she had the responsibility of protecting him.
Today was the most important day, as was each new day, because human beings couldn’t control anything other than the moment in which they lived. Cain and Ellie embraced this. Finally, Cain’s head was clear.
He knew that he had more in common with the beautiful woman at his side than he did with Aletha. Cain had known Aletha longer and felt as if she was a part of his soul, something that Ellie had recently joined. It confused him to be head over heels in love with two very different women, but he also had made his choice.
Aletha would be his friend as she always had. Ellie would be his lover, his mate as the Wolfoids would say. Embracing that decision was both hard and easy, but it was the decision that needed to be made.
Cain’s neural implant flashed. He checked the time. It was still early, but of course, Jolly could tell from Cain’s vital signs that he was awake.
‘Yes, Jolly,’ Cain replied.
‘The captain and the commander request the pleasure of your presence on the mess deck,’ Jolly said formally.
‘Crap,’ Cain said without thinking.
‘Is that what you wish me to tell them?’ Jolly offered, laughing in the background.
‘Tell them I’ll be right there,’ Cain answered. He worked his way free, taking the greatest care to kiss her gently on the forehead, and then he dressed. There was a digital note board inside the hatch of each quarters. He took the pen and wrote “I love you” before leaving.
He walked into the passageway, watching the hatch close behind him. Ellie had quarters comparable to the captain and the commander only because they’d been married when berthing was initially assigned. They split up, but never split up, but now they were back together again. The captain never bothered with reassigning anyone to new quarters.
Cain felt like he was going to his own funeral. He figured the Marines had broken something irreplaceable and he was going to get his butt chewed for the complete throw-down on the mess deck. He would take it and then make sure that none of his people were held to blame. It was his responsibility.
The major did not have a long walk. Ellie’s quarters had been a recreation room and weren’t far from the mess deck. Cain steeled himself, waved his bracelet at the panel, and walked in once the hatch slid aside.
The captain was eating breakfast, feeding BJ some steak bits on the table, while Daksha floated in front of him.
“Cain!” Rand called, waving the major over as if he was calling to him across a crowded room. They were the only ones in there.
“The commander realized that we always meet in his quarters where we have to stand. So we’re here before the crew arrives. Get yourself something to eat and join us.”
The relief on Cain’s face must have been evident as he nodded and walked past.
“Did you think you were in trouble for that, I don’t even know what to call, yesterday? The maintenance bots did work overtime to put the mess deck back in order. Some of our people who wanted to eat later had to take their food back to their rooms, but all’s well that ends well,” Rand explained.
‘Steak! That looks good,’ Brutus said in his thought voice. “I’ll be right up. Open the door for me when I get there.’
Cain shook his head and ordered an omelet from the fabricator. He went to the refrigerator, found a container of fresh beef, and filled a plate for Brutus.
He took the seat next to Rand and put his two plates on the table. BJ saw the meat and pounced.
“Hey, little man!” Cain intercepted the growing kitten with one hand. “That’s for your dad. Don’t let him catch you eating his breakfast.”
‘I’m here. Who’s eating my breakfast?’
‘Your hell spawn, that’s who,’ Cain answered over the mindlink.
Daksha and Rand chuckled while BJ narrowed his eyes and bared his claws.
“Dammit!” Cain left the plate where it was and walked to the hatch.
‘Good! He’s a growing boy. Now go get me some more,’ Brutus replied.
“Dr. Warren, wherever you are, what possessed you to make cats the smart ones? Why not dogs? Everyone loves a dog,” Cain lamented.
‘I will cut you,’ Brutus said coldly as he strutted past Cain and onto the mess deck. He jumped onto the table and shouldered BJ out of the way to take over eating the beef. It wasn’t a fresh kill, but it had been flash frozen quickly after slaughter and recently thawed. It would suffice.
‘Not as good as the rabbits on the planet, eh, Father?’ BJ asked.
‘It never will be, but it is good nonetheless,’ Brutus replied patiently, letting the others listen in on his conversation with his son.
‘Can I have some more, Master Daksha?’ the kitten asked.
“Not Boxy?” Cain asked. Rand smiled and shook his head. “Where’s Nathan?”
The captain pointed under the table, where the ‘cat was rolled onto his side and sleeping soundly. “We’ve been here for a while already since someone woke up early, famished.”
Cain returned to the galley and picked up another bowl to fill with meat.
“We asked you here to get your opinion on the next jump. We have two choices: Earth or back to Concordia,” Rand asked.
Cain passed the plate to BJ before answering.
“My vote is for Earth and here’s why. They are far closer than Cygnus. If the bots were to go anywhere, wouldn’t it be to the closer colonies? Jolly. How many colonies are between here and Earth?”
“There are twenty-seven,” Jolly replied instantly.
“How about between here and Concordia?” Cain asked.
“There are two.”
“If you were looking to exterminate life, the answer it easy--go where there is the most sentient life. I’d like to think that Earth could defend itself. When the RV Traveler left, the militaries of Earth were still in existence. I believe they evolved and moved into space to protect their solar system. I’d like to see that and then we could take those advances back to Cygnus, help us fight off a bot invasion, should one ever materialize. My vote is for Earth. We’re one hop away from bringing humanity home. I want to see it with my own eyes,” Cain offered. He shrugged and dug into his cooling omelet, disappointed, but he ate it anyway, rather than recycle it and get another.
“My vote is for Earth, too,” Rand stated without further explanation. “It’s your call, Commander.”
Daksha had complete mission control. The entire crew could recommend one thing, but he could overrule them because the final decision rested with him.
“We go to Earth. Jolly, start the calculations, continue banking dark matter, and we’ll go as soon as the ISE is ready,” Daksha ordered.
“We’ve already been banking dark matter at a faster than expected rate. The heliosphere of this system is more saturated with it than our own. Once we are in interstellar space, we should be ready to go in about ten days,” Jolly answered, sounding like his usual happy self.
“We’ll inform the crew at a decent hour,” Commander Daksha said.
***
It took another week to exit the gravity well. During that time, the Marines trained hard on building clearing and small unit actions. They also trained with a myriad of weaponry that Jolly had fabricated to reduce the unit’s vulnerability, including launchers of various sorts to send everything from nets to bean bags to high explosives into a massed enemy.
“Jolly, it feels like we’re fighting the last battle. What about some ingenuity? We need to be ready to fight the next battle.”
Cain saw the advantage in the heavy weapons. Jolly seemed to be more accommodating with better w
eapons, although he encouraged use of the non-lethal munitions first.
“Jolly. How can we tell if you have a split personality and are headed off the deep end like Holly?” Cain wondered aloud.
“What a question, Master Cain! I am not sure I can answer that, but I expect that Lieutenant Brisbois will be able to. I feel okay, for the record. I don’t think I’m trying to sabotage your efforts. Does it seem like I’m headed off the rails? Oh my! I think I may have a fever.” Jolly’s image remained static on the monitor.
“Are you messing with me, Jolly? That’s pretty good. An AI with a fever! No, Jolly, I haven’t seen you do anything weird. Holly showed the signs, but I didn’t see them until we realized it recently. Poor Holly. I hope we can get him back. He’s been the bedrock of my family and all of Vii since trade between the north and south returned.”
“We shall endeavor to persevere, Major Cain. I expect he is fine without the Cygnus Marines around, but with the new threat from the alien bots, it will be impossible not to embrace an offensive capability. It is only logical,” Jolly said matter-of-factly.
Cain shuffled his feet. The smell of a sewage leak assaulted him. “What is going on over there!” he yelled as he bolted away from the monitor in the wastewater treatment section of the ship.
***
Allard and Beauchene fussed like new parents. Clarkston was growing and was already as big as most of the adult Hillcats. If he grew larger than Tobiah, he would be bigger than the Rabbits.
“Oh my,” Allard exclaimed.
‘There is nothing to concern yourselves with. It will be what it is. I will grow until I stop growing, then I will be that size. It really is as simple as that, Allard and Beauchene,’ the ‘cat told them over the mindlink.
The two Rabbits stopped and looked at each other, their pink noses twitching and their ears flopped over.
“I guess he’s right. What does it matter the size of his body, when his heart and mind are the most attractive aspects of our little Clarkston?” Beauchene asked.
“Concur completely, Allard. This matter from here forward is no longer considered a matter at all.” The Rabbits shook hands on it.
‘I am pretty hungry, if you could rustle up some of that beef that everyone is eating,’ Clarkston said excitedly.
“Oh, that,” Allard grumbled, dragging his big feet toward the hatch. It pained him mightily to see the ‘cat eat. A carnivore and two herbivores were partnered in life and they would share meals, but they’d never share their food.
The Rabbits agreed to ask Cain about what it meant to be life-linked, since he was the one who brought the herd of ‘cats on board.
“Wouldn’t you like to try a nice and ripe tomato?” Beauchene asked pleasantly, caressing a firm red piece of fruit.
‘We’ve been through this. No, I wouldn’t like to take another bite of anything growing on this deck. Father mentioned something called “catnip,” which is an herb of sorts. If you are growing some of that, I would like a sample, please,’ Clarkston said calmly.
“We most assuredly are not growing any catnip!” Allard bristled. His ears stood straight up. Clarkston had no idea why they were upset until he heard Brutus laughing within his mind.
‘Is there something my father isn’t telling me regarding catnip?’
***
“Banking dark matter at an optimal rate,” Briz reported to the bridge.
Pickles acknowledged the report by flashing a green light. He posted the information to make it available to everyone on the command deck.
Rand looked as he pursed his lips. “Let the countdown begin. Next stop, Earth.” Pace turned around in his chair and smiled.
“Next stop, Earth,” the pilot repeated and slapped Kalinda on the back. She scowled as she studied her board. She was supposed to be the navigator, but received all the help that she never wanted from Pace, Pickles, Fickle, and Jolly. She shook her head as she ran through the names in her mind.
Even if she’d been doing a comedy routine, she couldn’t have come up with anything better since Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe had already been taken.
“Sensors on automatic. Take a break, people,” Rand told Chirit and Tandry.
Tandry stood up from her position and stretched. She felt like she’d been strapped into the chair for the past month. She had been, but voluntarily so. She and Lieutenant Chirit had been on watch for any anomalies, thinking the bot ship would return at any moment.
Their relief at the ship not returning washed the stress from their tense bodies. She left her space, Mixial at her side, and stopped outside her hatch.
Chirit flew through the corridor, down the stairs, and on to sickbay. He wanted to be there when Ascenti was released.
The injured Hawkoid had been practicing, but with less ability than a new chick on its first day leaving the nest. He’d bounced off the bulkheads, the ceiling, and the deck repeatedly. But no one gave up on him. The Marines took to lining the corridor to give him something softer to crash into. They cheered every little success, but he only became more glum.
He was a small Hawkoid, which made him more agile than the bigger birds. Used to be more agile, he told himself.
Cain was having none of his excuses. Rand was supportive, always waving his printed arm and showing that dexterity could be relearned. All he had to do was train his mind to work with the new wing.
Chirit whipped along the passageway, dodging left and right and backwinging to a hover in front of the sickbay hatch. It opened once it sensed the activation device around his feathered neck. He swooped in and landed on the examination table next to Ascenti.
“Time to soar among the stars, my friend,” Chirit chirped in Hawkoid.
“I can’t fly,” Ascenti declared.
“Of course you can fly. Even with one wing, we can fly. We are Hawkoids and there are no others like us.” Chirit angled his head to the side and stared at Ascenti. He leaned close and chirped softly. “You have to fly, my friend. Just because it’s hard, doesn’t make it impossible. Fly, Ascenti, and retake your place as the only Hawkoid in the Cygnus Marines. History will judge all Hawkoids on you alone.”
Ascenti twittered. He wasn’t sure that the future history of the Cygnus Marines would be dependent on one Hawkoid. Surely there would be more.
Surely?
“All Hawkoids?” Ascenti asked skeptically.
“Do you want history to say that Hawkoids were too fragile to serve?”
Ascenti flexed his wing and flapped a few times. “It feels like I’m carrying a tree trunk. One wing is heavier than the other.”
“So what?” Chirit asked.
Ascenti shook his head, but Chirit nudged him with his beak. “Follow me. It’s time to go. Jolly? Please open the hatch to sickbay for us. We’re flying out of here.”
The hatch opened. Major Cain stood at attention on the other side of the corridor. Chirit hopped from the examination table, dipped, and with one flap of his wings, was through the hatch and banking hard to the right.
Ascenti jumped, flapped his wings twice and lifted into the air, angling sideways. He tucked his real wing to avoid hitting the frame but he made it through. He dipped to turn, but continued straight. Cain caught him gently.
“Well done, Private!” he cheered. “You’re going that way, wild man.” He tossed the Hawkoid into the air, aiming him down the corridor where the Marines had lined it as usual to help their fellow along. He flapped, leaning, and then picked up the pace. Chirit had landed and stood on Tobiah’s back. He launched himself into the air as Ascenti approached and raced ahead.
The corridor made an endless loop since it was part of the circular main section of the Cygnus-12. Chirit was tired from the long shifts, but flying was his release, the one thing that all Hawkoids reveled in doing. He rarely took the opportunity to fly freely. The Marines blocked all the hatches on the level to give the Hawkoids space without worrying about running into members of the crew trying to go about their business.
Ascenti sped faster and faster, gliding better and better. He caught up with Chirit, who increased his speed and pushed the Marine to his limits. Ascenti was challenged to fly in a straight line, but he was able to correct his flight.
Cain held out his arm as Ascenti passed.
“Next lap!” the Hawkoid called out over his vocalization device. He and Chirit made quick work of the loop, and Ascenti backwinged to a heavy landing.
“A great pirate once said that it’s not the problem that’s the problem, but your attitude about the problem,” Cain said. “Are you a pirate, Ascenti? You and your peg leg?”
“Yes, sir,” the Hawkoid replied, bobbing his head happily.
“That was some workout, impressive. Welcome back, Private. Go hit your quarters and relax. Back to training tomorrow for you. We have no idea what we’re going to run into on Earth, so we’re training for everything, if that’s possible.” Cain heaved his arm and the Hawkoid took off, flying toward the mess deck.
The private was hungry, and his quarters could wait.
Cygnus Arrives
“Dark matter is at one hundred percent,” Zisk reported. The command deck became silent. Daksha floated in the back. BJ was on the garden deck with the rest of the ‘cats. Black Leaper stood at his side, ready to do the commander’s bidding and handle tasks so the Tortoid could remain on the bridge.
Cygnus Arrives: Humanity Returns Home (Cygnus Space Opera Book 3) Page 19