by Ryk Brown
Nathan deactivated the holo-chip and placed it in his pocket, then picked up his bag and headed out the door and forward.
Moments later, he found himself following Dalen and Marcus down the port corridor and into the galley, where Neli, Josh, and Loki were already waiting.
“What’s going on, Cap’n?” Josh wondered as Nathan followed the others into the galley. “What’s with the bag? You going somewhere?”
“Actually, we all are,” Nathan said.
“A vacation?” Josh suggested, only half joking.
“I wish,” Nathan replied. “We’re all moving on board the Aurora. You’re all getting cabins down on E deck.”
“Together?” Josh wondered, looking fearful.
“No, not together. It will be pretty much the same as it is here. Marcus and Neli in one cabin, Dalen in another, and Josh in the third cabin, with Loki bunking with Josh as needed.”
“Hot damn!” Josh exclaimed. “No more of Neli’s cooking!”
“Hot damn, no more cleaning up after Josh,” Neli followed.
“Does this mean I get to be with my family?” Loki asked.
“In between missions, yes. But you will be expected to report for duty on a regular basis, even when the Seiiki isn’t flying.”
“What for?” Josh wondered.
“Training, maintenance, mission planning, that kind of stuff,” Nathan explained.
“Why can’t we just stay where we are?” Neli wondered.
“We need the cabin space to accommodate the reactors for the plasma torpedo cannons, and for the upgraded shielding,” Nathan continued. “The Seiiki is being turned into a tactical combat ship, capable of multiple mission profiles.”
“But we’re still going to be her crew, right?” Dalen asked.
“That’s right,” Nathan replied. “You’ll still be her chief engineer, Dalen, with a little help from Commander Kamenetskiy and the Aurora’s engineering department. Marcus will be the deck chief, and Neli will be support.”
“Who’s running the gun turrets?” Marcus asked.
“You, Neli, and Dalen, depending on the mission,” Nathan told him. “Josh will be the pilot, and Loki will be the copilot, navigator, and weapons officer.”
“What will you be doing?” Josh asked.
“If I’m part of the mission, then whatever the mission calls for, I guess.”
“We’re going to be flying missions without you?” Josh wondered.
“Probably.”
Marcus’s curiosity was suddenly aroused. “Wait a minute… Where are you going to be bunked, Cap’n?”
Despite his best efforts to keep it hidden, a smile crept onto the corner of Nathan’s mouth. “I’m taking command of the Aurora.”
“You’re shittin’ me!” Josh exclaimed.
“It’s about fuckin’ time,” Marcus added.
“Uh, how does Captain Taylor feel about this?” Loki wondered.
“Actually, it was her idea,” Nathan replied.
“No shit?” Josh asked.
“I hope this doesn’t mean we’re going to have to wear them dopey, gray uniforms again,” Marcus grumbled.
Nathan smiled. “I’m pretty sure you can keep wearing your jumpsuits, Marcus.” Nathan looked at his crew. “You should all probably get packed up and moved as soon as possible. Engineering teams are going to start gutting your cabins first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Not without us aboard, they’re not,” Marcus warned.
“That is the plan, Marcus. In fact, I’m counting on you all to make sure they don’t screw up our ship permanently. Someday, we’re going to want to change her back again. So, make sure they don’t do anything we can’t undo later.”
“You got it Cap’n,” Marcus promised.
“Real food, real beds, real showers, and real women!” Josh exclaimed, hoping down from the galley counter. “I’ll be moved and trolling the Aurora’s mess hall within the hour!”
“Don’t forget to pick up comm-sets from the Aurora’s quartermaster,” Nathan reminded them.
“Uh, Cap’n?” Dalen said. “Are we going to get assigned a rank, or something?”
“To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it, Dalen. Do you need one?”
“I don’t know. But how am I going to know who to take orders from, and who to salute, and all that?”
“I’ll talk to Captain Taylor about it as soon as I officially take command. In the meantime, don’t bother saluting anyone. Just say ‘good day’, all right?”
“You got it, Cap’n,” Dalen answered, before turning to exit.
His ship might never be the same, but he still had his crew. And to the part of him who was Connor Tuplo, they would always be his real family.
* * *
Nathan stood just inside the door of the empty captain’s cabin. It was exactly how he remembered it. Except, of course, it was clean; he had never been the tidiest person.
He walked into the center of the main living area, slowly looking around. Memories came flooding back to him. Memories of what had been his refuge; the place where he came to escape the pressures of command, if only for a brief period.
In retrospect, he had done little in this cabin other than sleep, and the occasional ‘night before’ meetings that had become a ritual for Nathan, Vladimir, Cameron, and Jessica, before battles. Those had actually been some of the best times aboard ship. Just the four of them hanging out, doing nothing important.
The door buzzer sounded, and Nathan turned to open it.
“Welcome back, Captain,” Vladimir said with a smile. “Have you finished unpacking?” he added as he moved into the cabin.
“To be honest, I don’t have much to unpack,” Nathan admitted, holding up his duffel bag.
“I’m surprised Cameron gave you her cabin,” Vladimir said as he plopped down on the couch.
“She insisted on moving to the XO’s cabin,” Nathan explained. “I tried to talk her out of it, but she kept going on about continuity and appearances… I finally just gave in.”
“She never did like this cabin much,” Vladimir pointed out. “She always felt like your presence was still in it, like a ghost, or something.”
“Really?”
“Da. Silly, yes?”
“It’s weird,” Nathan commented, strolling about the main living space. “To the part of me that is Connor, this place seems completely unfamiliar. But to the part of me that is Nathan, it feels like I’ve only been gone a few weeks.”
“It was only a few weeks that I was sitting right here, watching that message you sent,” Vladimir said. “Oh, and I suggest you do not speak of the ‘Connor’ side of you, around anyone, but me. It might make people worry.”
“And you aren’t?”
“Not in the least,” Vladimir said confidently.
Nathan looked at him, one eyebrow raised.
“Okay, maybe a little,” Vladimir admitted, “but only because you keep talking about the ‘Connor’ side of you. Josh was right, we should start calling you ‘Conathan’.”
“Funny,” Nathan remarked dryly as he headed into the bedroom to put away his duffel. “Referring to my ‘Connor’ and ‘Nathan’ sides is simply my way of dealing with it. Honestly, sometimes I have a hard time telling which memories are from which life.”
“Then do not even try,” Vladimir suggested.
Nathan paused mid-stride, leaning back to look through the door at Vladimir. “Come again?”
“Seriously. Just pretend you were Nathan during the last five years, and that you were pretending to be Connor. Like you were hiding out, living under an alias, so the Jung would not discover you were alive.”
Nathan stood in the doorway, dumbfounded, staring at his friend.
“What?”
“That’s not a bad idea, really.” Nathan scratched his head in dismay. “I’m actually kind of embarrassed I didn’t think of that myself.”
“What can I say?” Vladimir boasted. “I am genius.”
Nathan looked at him cockeyed.
“Okay, I got the idea from Jessica. When they woke your first body and discovered you had no memory, they were going to tell you who you really were, but decided against it.”
“Why?” Nathan wondered, still standing in the bedroom doorway.
“Jessica thought it would be easier for you to give up everything you knew, if you didn’t know about it.”
“But I did know about it,” Nathan argued. “I knew about my fake life.”
“One where you had no living relatives. No one you would seek out. No one to reconnect with.”
“That’s crazy,” Nathan commented. “Then again, it was Jessica’s idea, so…”
“Actually, Jessica’s reasoning was it would be easier to pretend not to be Nathan, if you did not know you really were Nathan.”
“You mean, if I truly believed I was Connor Tuplo.”
“Isn’t that what I said?”
“That sounds more like Jessica,” Nathan agreed.
“So, just pretend like you knew you were really Nathan the whole time, and you are very good actor.”
“In essence, lie to myself.”
“Exactly.”
“Isn’t that kind of crazy in itself?” Nathan wondered.
“Humans lie to themselves all the time.”
“That’s true,” Nathan agreed. He turned and headed back inside the bedroom, opening the closet door. When he did so, his eyes widened, and his mouth fell agape.
Vladimir looked around the room. “Is there anything to eat in here?” When Nathan did not respond, he called again. “Nathan! Do you have any food?” Finally, he got up and headed toward the bedroom. “Did you hear me? Or did the Connor side of you not realize I was calling you?” he teased as he entered the bedroom. He paused mid-stride, spotting Nathan sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the open closet. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Nathan didn’t respond, but just kept staring at the open closet. Vladimir moved further inside, looking into the closet, as well. Inside was a full set of mens uniforms, complete with captain’s stripes and insignias. Attached to the side of them was a note. Vladimir removed the note and read it aloud. “You are right where you are supposed to be. Welcome back.” Vladimir looked at Nathan. “It’s signed by Cam.”
Nathan looked at Vladimir. “I’m really back, aren’t I,” he said.
“Yes, my friend. And it’s about time.”
Nathan looked at the uniforms, then back at Vladimir. “Do you think I’m ready?”
“Hopefully, more so than the first time you took command of this ship,” he joked. “Now, let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
* * *
Terig started his day as usual, reviewing the communications logs from the previous day, crosschecking them against the backup logs. Lord Mahtize was adamant about maintaining proper records and backups of all communications, as well as encrypting all files. ‘Data is a commodity like any other’, he would often remind his staff. And Terig’s primary job was to protect that data, in every way possible.
It wasn’t exactly an exciting or challenging job by any stretch of the imagination, but it paid well enough, and he had been lucky to land the position over others. He was fresh out of technical school when he first applied, and had only gotten an interview because of a friend who was on the security staff of House Mahtize. A shared interest in polymorphic circuitry with the woman who had interviewed him had been the clincher, a fact he often reminded his wife of whenever she teased him about his obscure obsession.
Terig had never met Lord Mahtize, nor any of the lord’s extended family. Like all the other nobles of Takara, the Mahtize family had taken the longevity serum for decades under the rule of Caius Ta’Akar, allowing them to build a considerable family line. Like every other lord of Takara, Mahtize had dozens of children, and more than a hundred grandchildren and great grandchildren. He even had a staff whose primary responsibility was keeping track of all of his offspring’s birthdays, graduations, and other significant life events, ensuring their lord did not forget to attend with an appropriate present in hand. It was an odd type of family structure, one that only existed among the wealthiest citizens of Takara.
The assassination of Caius, however, had brought an end to the massive noble families. The nobles had dumped millions into feeble attempts to resurrect the lost formula for the longevity serum, many of which were still in progress. But the dream had all but faded in recent years. Many thought it for the best, believing life-spans lasting centuries were entirely unnatural, and had a negative influence on society as a whole. Terig didn’t think it as bad as some, but agreed that living forever took much of the value out of life itself. Even without the longevity serum, the average life-span on Takara was well over one hundred and twenty years, enabling families to rival those of the nobles in size, if not in wealth and position.
As he scanned the communications logs, Terig contemplated what it must be like to have so many children that you needed someone to keep track of them for you. What little he saw of the Mahtize household seemed utter chaos in his eyes. Luckily, he had married a woman who only wanted a small family.
The comms log was full of the usual stuff. Business calls by staffers, messages from dozens of people wishing to speak to Lord Mahtize about urgent matters of every sort, and a dozen, or so, calls made by Lord Mahtize himself. The log was lighter than usual, as Mahtize had been out of the office for most of the day. The lord usually had at least half a dozen meetings with various individuals during a normal business day, but his presence had been required at the Council of Nobles that morning, so the number of personal meetings that had been recorded was only one, a Mister Tensen Dalott.
Terig did not recall the name on any of the previous comms logs, which was unusual. Most meetings with Lord Mahtize required multiple calls to arrange. After further checking, Terig learned that Mister Dalott had shown up that morning, and had somehow convinced those who are supposed to filter out such surprise visits into allowing him to sit and wait in hopes of an audience with the leader of House Mahtize. That really was quite unusual. In fact, Terig could not remember anyone being permitted to speak with his employer without countless prior negotiations.
The fact that this man had done so intrigued Terig to no end.
But it was none of his concern. His job was to backup and encrypt all communication files, and to maintain the infrastructure which supported that function. The content of those files was none of his business.
Yet…
His mind suddenly recalled his brief discussion with Jessica Nash aboard the Mystic Empress, just before he and his wife had boarded the escape pods with the rest of the departing passengers. She had given him a list of things to watch for: movement of Dusahn forces, attacks on other worlds, drastic changes in the political and economics of Takara…in essence, anything that might be of importance to the Karuzari. But most importantly, she had told him to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
This was definitely out of the ordinary.
Terig suddenly felt ill. It had been twelve days since that conversation. Twelve days since he had volunteered to serve as a spy for the Karuzari. This was the first time he had been faced with the decision to actually do something. Until now, he had committed no crimes, except one of omission by not reporting his conversation with the rebels to the Dusahn. But this…
The ill feeling in his stomach was getting worse. There was a line before him. A line that, if crossed, there would be no turning back from. His wife would be furious with him. She might even leave him. But something inside told him it was the right thing to do. He was not a warrior, he wasn’t even a brave man by anyone’s standards. He had never actually been in a fight. But this was something that he could do. This was a way he could resist the Dusahn. It was a small way…probably one that would amount to nothing. But even if no one ever knew what he had done, he would know. Terig Espan would always know that he had done what he could to protect h
is world.
Terig pulled the data chip from his belt buckle; the one Jessica had given him. It was made of a polymer that would not show up on the security scanners used all over Takara. He leaned forward, as if reaching to adjust his view screen, in order to hide his insertion of the data chip from the camera behind him. Once inserted, he entered a command string to begin the backup process, as usual. Only this time, he added a few extra commands, causing a shadow copy to be sent to the data port containing his special data chip. The last sequence in the command string caused the shadow copy process to be stricken from the logs, so no one would know what he had done. The only way someone could tell he had copied the file would be if they were watching his monitor feed at this very moment. Given that he was usually the first person to arrive in his department, the chances of that were slim.
Still, Terig felt as if he was going to vomit. After the file was copied, he again adjusted his view screen with one hand, while he removed the data chip with the other, slipping it back into the slot on his belt buckle under the table, where the camera could not see.
Then, just like that, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach began to fade. Unfortunately, it did not go away completely, and Terig expected it would be with him at least until he got home at the end of the day, if not for days afterward.
But he had done something. He had committed an act of espionage. And while it made him nauseated and light-headed, it also gave him a feeling of exhilaration.
He only hoped he could keep the secret from his wife. She had ways of knowing things that he simply did not understand.