by Ginger Smith
“You woke up early,” she said.
“Yeah. Eira tell you I went for a walk?”
She nodded. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m good. I can definitely tell a difference, now,” he said.
She knew what he meant. “You can? Is it good or bad?” She bit her lip, hoping for the best.
“It’s good, I think. My mind’s pretty… quiet.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I can’t describe it. It’s like… there’s always been static in my brain, like background noise on a comm signal, but now it’s clear.” He paused to glance at her. “That doesn’t make sense does it?”
“It might,” she smiled.
“My mind’s usually racing. I mean, I’m always thinking of how to keep you guys safe, all the possible outcomes in a certain situation… a million things that I was taught in the ACAS. Those things are still there, but now…they’re not right out in front anymore.”
She studied his features and suddenly understood. “You mean you feel calm.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, but…”
“But what?”
“I keep feeling like there’s something I should be doing. It doesn’t feel right to be so… relaxed,” Hal said. “It’s… I guess all this is going to be an adjustment, huh?”
“Yeah. Don’t be hard on yourself. We’re in this with you. It’s OK to take a while to get your feet under you.”
“Yeah,” he said, glancing back out at the snow.
She felt him shiver. He’d been out here too long. “Getting cold, aren’t you? Let’s head back. We could both use some coffee, and Beryl’s gonna want to check you out first thing.”
Ty appeared in the galley just as Beryl took Hal back for a check. “He’s up early,” Ty said to Vivi, slip-walking his way over to the coffee maker. He shifted his center of gravity backwards to lock his braces as he poured himself a cup.
“Yeah,” Vivi said. “I found him at the hangar door, watching it snow. He woke up a lot earlier than I did, but Eira was keeping track of him.”
“I did not wake you, Ty, because it was morning and you needed your rest,” Eira said. “Hal told me to give you a message about where he was if you woke before he returned.”
“Was there anything wrong?” Ty asked, concern crossing his features as he glanced over to Vivi.
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. He says things are different… quieter in his head. He seems a lot more at peace, but I think he’s concerned about how to protect us.”
Ty nodded as he made his way over. “That makes sense. This is going to be a big adjustment for him.” He sat beside Vivi and leaned in as much as his back brace would allow. “That’s kind of what I was thinking to talk to you and Eira about.”
“I am listening, Tyce,” Eira responded.
“Me too,” Vivi assured him.
Ty took a deep breath. “The surgery to implant the sensors is in two days. They’re telling me it should be an easy procedure, but… almost dying puts some ideas in your head, you know?” He laughed self-consciously.
“You’re going to be fine,” Vivi reassured him.
He nodded. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you and Eira so much. You did a great job backing Hal up on Chamn-Alpha, and I feel comfortable leaving him with you two and Beryl to watch over him… if something were to happen to me.”
“I will do my best for him, amatan,” Eira said.
“I know you will,” Ty replied.
“Ty,” Vivi placed a hand on his forearm. “There’s something you should know… I’m… Well, I’ve fallen in love with Hal.” She blushed. “I haven’t told him yet because he needs more time, but I’m sure of how I feel, and I think he feels the same way. Nothing’s going to happen to you, Ty, but you don’t have to worry. I’ll be here for him.”
“That’s… that’s great,” Ty’s face broke into a smile and he reached out to hug her. “That means a lot to me, Vivi.”
Eira broke in, “Tyce, I have researched the surgery you are having, and the success rate is ninety-four percent. You should not worry. There was no need for this conversation.”
Ty met Vivi’s eyes with a smile. “Yeah, there was, Eira. There was.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
Two days later, Ty underwent the simple surgery to implant the permanent sensors that would communicate with his exoframe. Vivi knew he had been anxious to get it finished, so that he would be self-sufficient. He had been relying on Beryl’s help every morning to get the sticky pad of sensors positioned correctly on his back so that his nerves could communicate with the braces. However, with the surgery complete, he would be able to use his rig tomorrow, and be totally independent.
While Ty had been resting, Beryl had sent Hal and Vivi out for lunch and now they were returning. Hal still hadn’t experienced any negative effects from Eira’s procedure and Beryl said his level of adrenaline was near normal. His stress hormones and heart rate were also lower, but not quite as low as a natural born’s. Still, Beryl had been pleased at the change. Vivi hoped it would be enough to ease the strain on his system.
“We’re back, Eira,” Vivi called as she and Hal climbed up the cargo ramp, shut it and made their way deeper into the ship.
“Eira?” Vivi called again.
There was no answer, but all the lights in the ship cut out, and suddenly it was completely dark. “Veevs?” Hal said, a note of concern in his voice.
She felt him next to her in the dark as she fumbled in her pocket for her handheld. “Yeah.” When the light from her display illuminated the hallway, she was able to see that Hal had drawn his blaspistol.
“Ty? Beryl?” Hal called.
“In the galley,” Ty’s voice came back. “Everything was fine, then it just went black.”
Hal and Vivi made their way to them. “Eira’s not responding,” Vivi said.
The silence pounded around them.
“Let’s get to the bridge,” Hal said. Suddenly the emergency lights clicked on, throwing harsh shadows. As they moved back to the bridge, Vivi had time to notice that Hal’s eyes were not dilated with the rush, although he was obviously tense.
They made their way with Ty following in his hoverchair. Vivi immediately headed to a keyboard and began typing a series of commands.
There was an error sound, then Runa’s chime. Eira’s voice spoke, “System offline, the automatic program is running a diagnostic, then the system will restart.”
“What the hell?” Vivi murmured. She used her tecker node to tap into the diagnostic feed so she could watch what was going on. “The memory is near maximum capacity. Response time down to seventy percent.”
“Please wait,” Eira said.
“Eira, what’s up, beautiful?” Hal ran his hand over her monitor, as if she could feel his touch.
No reply.
“The system’s moving slow,” Vivi said, shaking her head.
Still no reply.
“Eira…” Ty murmured.
Finally, Eira’s voice answered them. “Hello amatan. I am sorry to have alarmed you; I am trying to clear errors in working memory and logic systems which caused an unexpected shutdown.”
“What’s going on to cause errors?” Vivi asked, her eyes scanning the screen that only she could see.
“The Loshad’s computer capability cannot contain all of my programming.”
“Why is this happening now? You were fine before,” Ty asked.
“I was functional, but without my nanites I am relying more upon the Loshad’s computer systems to stabilize my neural patterns. They are not up for this task. As I learn and acquire information, I am having problems operating in this conveyance.”
“What’ll happen if it keeps going on?” Vivi asked.
“If it continues, the chance of experiencing a cascading error will be high. At the best, I could continue to exist in a stasis state. At the worst, I could no longer be functional.”<
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“You’re talking about death,” Vivi said, feeling a lump form in her stomach.
“As you understand it, yes, Vivi.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Hal asked.
Eira’s voiceprint appeared on the nearest monitor. “There is little you can do. On my worldship I could be transferred into a Mudar conveyance. Here, my neural pattern will continue to degrade.”
“I can upgrade the Loshad’s memory for you. I don’t know if it would be enough, but it might help with the problems you’re experiencing,” Vivi said.
“Thank you, Vivi.”
“Is there… I can’t believe I’m asking this, but is there any way to contact your worldship?” Ty asked.
“It may be possible. I have their last coordinates.”
“How long has it been since… since those coordinates were verified?” Ty said.
“One hundred point three years. After we realized how violent your species was, we decided to retreat and wait until you evolved beyond your warlike nature.”
“So the Mudar didn’t leave like everyone believed? They’re still there?” Hal asked.
“Yes, it is probable.”
“How long of a trip is it?” Hal asked.
“Three months,” Eira said, “beyond the border of your known space.”
“Will they welcome us? I mean, we’re not on the best of terms.”
“They will be surprised, but I do not believe they would harm you, Hal.”
Suddenly, Vivi grabbed Hal’s arm. “Three days ago, Eira said if she was on her worldship, she could help Ty.”
Hal’s eyes were wide as he stared at Eira’s voice print. “You could?”
“Yes, I am ninety-three percent certain I could do this aboard my worldship,” Eira said.
“I vote to take the trip,” Vivi said immediately.
“Me too,” Hal added, looking to Beryl.
“You know I’m in. I haven’t looked after you this long to stop now.”
Ty shook his head. “Look… there’s a substantial risk here.”
“And you and Eira took a substantial risk for me, Ty. We want to do this. For you and for Eira,” Hal told him.
“So, I guess you have learned something from me,” Ty murmured to Hal with a wry smile.
“I assure you that no harm will come to any of you, my amatan,” Eira said.
“OK, then that’s settled. After we eat, I’ll go see Patrin and find out if he can help us upgrade our system memory,” Vivi said. She went to the wall of the bridge and reached an access panel. Pressing a sensor, the panel slid out, revealing a row of illuminated discs. She noted the specs with her handheld.
“Meanwhile, I’ll finish giving your current conveyance a new paint job,” Hal offered.
“I’ll check on purchasing supplies for the six-month trip,” Beryl said. “As grateful as the Al-Kimians are, I do not think we can impose on them too much longer.”
“As usual, I’m left with nothing to do but lie around and recuperate,” Ty complained.
“Oh no. I have plenty of physical therapy exercises to work on with you. You’ll be kept more than busy, my dear. Come on,” Beryl turned with the others to head to the galley.
“Hey,” Ty’s voice held a tinge of emotion that caused all of them to stop and turn. “Thank you. All of you.”
“I thank you as well, amatan,” Eira said.
* * *
Vivi headed back to the hangar that afternoon with a small box containing two precious crystal disks. They would add to the Loshad’s memory and help Eira to function more efficiently. Patrin had led her through the Al-Kimian military base to the supply systems depot to retrieve them. Some words and a smile exchanged with the dark-haired Al-Kimian woman in charge were enough to convince her to hand them over to Patrin. She’d thanked him, but he’d reminded her it was the least they could do since she and Hal had brought Max back. The researcher was still in a coma, but he was improving day by day.
As Vivi returned to the hangar alone, she easily found the familiar lines of the Loshad among the different ships, despite the new gray and green paint job that Hal had completed that morning.
She made her way up the ramp and into the cargo bay. “Hal?” she called.
“Hal is in the engine room changing the filters for the environmental system,” Eira said.
“Thanks, Eira,” Vivi replied as she headed that way. Although she’d been on the ship a while now, she’d only visited the engine room twice.
The hatch was open. She made her way inside, hearing metallic clanks, and sliding sounds. There was a low thrum of the ship running on residual power in the background, a humming note of accompaniment to the sounds of someone working.
“Hal, I got the disks,” she called as she walked around the last corner.
Hal was sitting on the floor, a rough green blanket underneath him. On the blanket was a half-assembled something made of sparkling metal. There was a fan, and belts and pulleys dotted around. She had no clue what it was, but Hal was cleaning each piece carefully before fitting it back into the assembly. His lips were moving as if he were singing, so she thought he had his earpieces in. He wasn’t specific about music, as long as it was fast and loud, so she was sure he hadn’t heard her. Mindful of his reflexes, she came around to the front so he could see her.
But he kept right on working, polishing, and fitting together. There were no earpieces. She knelt down in front of him to listen to what he was whispering:
“I am the fist of the ACAS. In war, I am strength. I bring the justice of the Coalition to its enemies…”
A shiver tiptoed up her spine. His expression was utterly blank. He was gone, checked out. His mind blotted out by his routine.
“Victory is mine. I will gladly fight to the death.”
He paused as he finished assembling, his eyes fixed on his work. Then, ritualistically, he began to take apart the metal contraption again, piece by piece, setting each one in front of him as though there was a place laid out for it. “I do not surrender to exhaustion or fear, I am steadfast and tenacious in the face of adversity. I am inexorable. I am the ACAS…”
She was crushed. She’d hoped that an end to the rush might mean an end to these episodes, but apparently it was not to be. He couldn’t have been there long. He’d finished painting the hull, then obviously come to change the air filter before cleaning up. He didn’t get that far, though. Dots of grey painted his hands as he took up a wrench and began to loosen bolts, continuing his liturgy. “I am the fist of the ACAS…”
If she didn’t stop him, would he continue this repetition until he passed out from exhaustion? She bit her lip. She needed to try somehow, even if it meant he might react badly.
With trembling fingers, she reached out and covered his hands with her own. “Hal?”
He stopped the awful whispering and sat there. It was as if he was frozen; his whole attention focused on her hands. Slowly, like ice thawing, his face began to melt into a confused expression. She could feel his cold fingers coming back to life again under her own.
She stroked her fingers over his. “Hal? Talk to me.” She lifted a hand to his cheek, but he reached up and grabbed her wrist in one quick precise movement. It wasn’t painful, but it was a tight grip she couldn’t get out of.
He tilted his head at her, scanning her face, all the while keeping a tight grasp on her wrist. “Who are you?”
“It’s me, Vivi. Please let go, Hal,” she said gently.
He released her hand, blinking and glancing around in confusion. “Veevs? What… What did I do?” he looked around him worriedly.
“Nothing, Hal. It’s OK. You just got… stuck for a minute there. You’re OK,” she sighed with relief, feeling her heart rate begin to decrease.
“I was changing the air filter… but I saw the fan assembly was dirty, so… I went to clean it.” He began to fit the pieces in front of him back together in a rapid fashion. The slow ritualistic motions were gone.
�
�Well, it’s clean now. Let me help you put it back, then we can get cleaned up before Beryl and Ty return.” She glanced down at the shining metal, then back up at him with a smile that belied her worries.
THIRTY-NINE
Except for nurses and doctors, Max had pretty much been alone. He didn’t have much to say anyway; he was drifting in and out of consciousness in a haze of pain medication. In half-dreams, he was back at the mag lock trying to release the ship, when he looked up and saw Hal. He was dressed in an ACAS uniform, looking down at Max through the scope of a blasrifle. In another, Max was running down the halls of the Chamn-Alpha facility, fleeing Dr Balen who threatened to kill him with the press of a button.
He opened his eyes after another bleary twilight of almost-rest to see someone sitting by his bedside. It was Vivi.
“Hi,” he managed in a rasping voice. His throat hurt – he must have been on some sort of ventilator. It was gone now; apparently the Al-Kimians’ legendary medical technology had done its work and he was breathing on his own.
“Max. They said you would wake up if I sat here for a while,” she said, smiling at him, though her eyes were sad. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m OK,” he groaned. He tried to sit up fully, but the stabbing pain in his chest forced him to fall back.
“Don’t lie to us, Max. You look like you were run over by a rover,” Hal chuckled. “But at least you’re here.”
Max glanced over and saw Hal standing near the foot of the bed. “You got me out alive.”
“Of course we did, Max. You may be an ACAS scientist, but you’re our ACAS scientist,” he grinned.
“Ex-ACAS scientist,” Max reminded them. “Thanks to you.”
“Max…” Vivi looked at him, her eyes luminous behind the shine of concern. “We’re going soon, and before we leave, I wanted to… to say… Well, it took a lot of bravery to leave the ACAS, and… and I was too hard on you. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s OK,” Max said. “You were right. I should have left sooner, but I was afraid. I could have done so much more.”
“Nobody blames you,” Hal said. “You were just one cog in a machine larger than any one of us.”