by C B Williams
“Okay, then we don’t let Eloch out of our sight, especially when he’s on the Navigation Bridge. For now, that’s the best I can come up with. At all times, someone is with Eloch.”
Perin brightened. “That might help. In the True Dream, you were there, Wren. You were right by his side.”
“And now I know what might happen, maybe I can do something about it,” Wren said, “At the very least, I can push him out of the way.”
“Do that, Wren. Be ready to push him then, because it will happen.”
The ship’s intercom pinged. “The anomaly is back,” Aiko announced from the Bridge. “And it’s coming our way. I’ve cut the engines. Would appreciate some company.”
Feeling a thrill of anticipation, Genji glanced at Kalea. Returning her grin, he slapped the com panel. “On our way,” he said. “Wade?”
“I’ll stay here and watch the readouts. This may be important to document,” Wade replied. “Go! Shoo!” he said when they hesitated. “It only takes one to record the data.”
When the pair reached the Bridge, Eloch and Wren were already there, gathered around an instrument panel. “As you can see on the viewing screen, there’s nothing there,” Aiko was saying. “But there’s definitely something out there.”
“Another ship that’s cloaked?” Wren asked.
Aiko shook her head. “No. I still would be able to get a ping response, and I got zero when I pinged. It’s heading right toward us. We should have visuals.”
“Think it’s wise to be standing still?” Wren asked with a frown. “Shouldn’t we get out of their way?”
“But there’s nothing there,” Akio replied, her hand sweeping across the viewing panel. “See for yourself. Nothing. Just empty space.”
“I sense energy building,” Eloch said. “I’m going to put a shield around us.”
“Shields are already up,” Akio told him.
“Different kind of shield,” Eloch told her.
“Are you recording all this? Wade is, too. I’m going to want to compare the data,” Genji said.
“Already on it, Genj,” Aiko said.
“I’m feeling something, too,” Kalea said and hissed.
Genji touched his mate’s hand, his eyes glued to the readouts in front of them. “Easy, Kalea. We’re quite safe. Eloch’s got this. Look here,. He pointed at the readouts. “There’s a spike in the data.”
Perin burst out of her stateroom. The need to be with the others was overwhelming—irrational.
Yet she felt driven to get to the ship’s Navigation Bridge. There was no other option in her mind. Trailing her fingers along the sides of the corridor and sweeping her stick in front of her, Perin ran as fast as she could. Streaking around a curve, she quickened her pace until she stopped, panting, in front of the door where she knew she’d find the others.
Something was happening. What, she did not know.
She fumbled at the door panel. It refused to budge. She took a breath to steady her trembling hand and tried again. It slid open. Caught off guard, she lurched into the room, mindful that the floor sloped down into the center of the room. She lightly touched the railing to get her bearings and calmed her breathing. Now that she was here, the urgency was gone. She waited, worried, sightless eyes scanning for energy patterns.
The outline of another ship punctured the Valiant’s bulkheads.
Perin gasped. Her heart began to pound so fast she thought she might black out.
The ghost ship from her dream! But this time she was not dreaming a True Dream. She was awake and this was happening! This was real! Her heart lurched when she understood she was helpless to stop the rapidly unfolding events.
Horrified, Perin followed the ghost ship’s path as it slowly and silently sailed through the Valiant’s sides.
Not a ghost ship.
It was just as real as the Valiant. Just as solid. And there was the uniformed crew, slightly exotic with their slanting, expressive eyes and creamy skin.
The people paid no attention to her, exactly as it had happened in her dream. Nor did it appear her companions saw the exotic people as their ship drifted through the Valiant’s hull.
How can this be? How could these two ships be in the same place at the same time without being aware of the existence of the other? This was no collision, no rending of metal, no attack. Yet there it was.
Just like in her Dream.
And even though it was happening, she still didn’t understand what she was seeing. Both ships shared the same space, just as she had described to Wren, and only she could see them both.
She could actually, simultaneously see them both!
That knowledge struck her with such force, she put a hand out to steady herself against the railing. How could she, who was blind, see both ships?
Was it her vision that was doing the seeing?
She looked around, recognizing her companions by their energetic signatures and now she saw faces, like an overlay.
It must be the vision that was doing the seeing. It must be because she saw their faces. Their expressions.
And there, in the middle of the Bridge, bending over an instrument panel with his mate, was Eloch, his light so bright, so very much like The Lady’s, so brilliant she could barely see his features within the light.
And there, on the other ship, just like in her vision, were the others, preparing that deadly weapon, the weapon that at any moment would puncture Eloch’s heart. And there was Eloch, unaware of this attack.
Surely, he must sense something!
Shouldn’t he?
The vision said not.
“No!” she gasped.
She couldn’t let it play out like the vision.
She could not.
She would not.
This was why The Lady had sent her on this voyage. By saving Eloch, she was saving The Lady, for surely, this other ship was The Something That Was Coming.
“No!” she shrieked. “Eloch, duck down! Duck down! Please!”
Wren looked over. Her eyes widened when they locked gazes.
“Push him, Wren! Do it now!”
The weapon fired, and Perin screamed, covering her eyes.
For one brief moment, time stood still.
Her ears rang.
The vision was dissolving. Her sight was changing back to vague outlines of energy, except, she remembered, there was one more thing. One more thing she needed to do.
Lowering her hands, she turned, watching the enemy ship sail past on its ghostly course. She studied the people, searching for the one. Yes. He was there, eyes wide as he looked directly at her.
Their gazes locked. Held. She felt a current run between them, palpable and real.
Something else to do, she knew.
Something important.
She put a hand to her heart and spoke her name. “Perin.”
“Jon,” he replied, as clear as day.
There. It was done. She owned his name.
With a soft sigh, Perin slumped to the floor.
“Eloch, duck down! Duck down! Please!” Perin shouted, her voice shrill.
Wren looked up, locked gazes with Perin. Perin? Seeing?
“Push him, Wren! Do it now!” There was real panic in her voice.
Wren shoved Eloch in his chest.
He staggered back with a twisting motion, but with such force Wren was momentarily confused. Had she hit him that hard? She squinted at him. He seemed confused. “Eloch?” she said, resting a hand on his forearm. “You okay?”
“Perin!” Kalea exclaimed.
Wren looked away as Kalea rushed to the fallen woman’s side. The Nuri hoisted her up and turned to Genji, “I’m taking her to the med lab, Genji.”
“Right behind you,” he answered and studied the instrument panel in front of him. “Looks like the anomaly is gone. I’ll want to study the recordings.” He looked at Aiko, “Can you make a copy for me?”
“Already done,” she said with a smile. “Go see what’s wrong with P
erin.”
“Wait! Genji, help me!” Wren grunted. “He’s too heavy.”
“Good god!” Genji exclaimed and rushed forward.
When Wren looked back at Eloch, he had the distant expression he got when he was turned inward.
“Feel funny,” he said, absently rubbing his right shoulder, “like too much ale.” His hand went up to his forehead. “Dizzy.”
“Here, Eloch, let me help you sit down,” Wren said, guiding him to one of the two pilot chairs.
He slumped into it. “Strange,” he mumbled. “Feel strange. Something is happening.”
His voice was slurred.
“Eloch!” Wren grabbed at him when he pitched forward and called out to Genji for help.
With Genji’s help, they strapped Eloch into the chair. His head lolled as he tried to focus on Wren. “Wh-where am I?” he asked and smiled weakly.
Wren knelt beside him, stroking his hand. “You’re aboard the Valiant, Eloch. Sitting on the Bridge in the pilot’s chair.” She glanced worriedly over at Genji and mouthed, What’s going on?
Genji knelt down beside her. “Eloch? You okay?”
Eloch squinted at Genji. “Thaif? Why aren’t you on Entean? I don’t understand,” he said woozily.
“We need to get him to the med lab, Wren.”
She nodded, and the two unbuckled Eloch and braced him between them. “Glad you’re a strong Nuri,” she huffed while they supported Eloch’s stumbling footsteps.
“I’m coming, too,” Aiko called after them. She turned to her control panel and flipped on the Bridge recordings. “Going to mark these coordinates and put us in a slow rotation around them,” she said. “Genji’s going to want to take readings,” she added to herself as she cut the engines to save the thrusters. As a precaution, she strengthened the shields. Before she left for the med lab, she snatched one of the remote ship-to-captain control devices and instructed the ship to contact her if anything else out of the ordinary occurred.
Chapter 9
Trouble
Grale had been in Cryo sleep before. This was nothing new. In his long career as a rock pounder, it was the only way to travel and maintain muscle mass necessary to do the labor-intensive job of gathering iron ore, aluminum, and the like from the asteroid belts scattered throughout the galaxy. In fact, he enjoyed slipping into his tank, a little soft around the middle from planet leave, only to wake up several years later with a rock-hard gut.
But not this time.
He was in the shower, washing off the grease they used to make sure the Cryo didn’t freeze you to death, when he noticed his flat abs were missing. What had happened? Some malfunction? He definitely remembered asking Wade to double-check the muscle stimulators, making sure he was harnessed in. Wade had winked as he assured him he was good to go. His smirk was the last thing Grale remembered before he drifted into the oblivion.
Grale stood under the steady stream of heated water, waiting for his teeth to stop chattering. The cold was his least favorite part about going into and coming out of the sleep. Hate this freakin’ cold. The warmth felt good, and after a span he began to relax under the steady spray. He stretched, popping his joints to get the kinks out, and soaped his middle again, frowning that he’d need to get his abs back the old-fashioned way, which meant work.
He paused. There could be another reason his abs hadn’t hardened. Maybe he hadn’t been under all that long. A couple of months, maybe, rather than three years as planned.
He paused in his washing. It was Aiko, not Wade. She brought him back online. The sleep always made him groggy, but he was coming back pretty quick now that he was warming up.
So Aiko brought him back online, which meant he was needed for something. Some equipment malfunction she couldn’t handle? He snorted. Bet that had gotten her good, her with her “I’m-a-colonizer-scout-pilot-and-you’re-nothing-but-a-rock-pounder” attitude. He was going to enjoy teasing the Kitten about this one.
The shower had done its job, and he waved his hand over the on/off panel, suddenly hungry, in need of a cup of coffee, and grateful Kalea had insisted they bring plenty of coffee beans and baby coffee plants from Longwei. He quickly toweled off. Flinging the towel onto the drying rack, he dressed in loose-fitting clothes, exited his cabin, and hustled toward the galley.
Over the years, the Knack Man had expanded their ship, even beyond the size it was when they acquired it. Grale didn’t mind. There was plenty of space so people wouldn’t get on each other’s nerves, which could easily happen on long journeys like this one.
And what a difference from his own ship, where people’s modular cabins were a third the size as the ones on this ship, which had been built for the UpperUppers. Nothing was too good for the colonizers, that’s for sure. Lots of comforts on this vessel. No wonder he’d gotten a little soft! Couple the comfort already built into the design with the constant tweaking Eloch was doing, and Grale was surprised he hadn’t become a butterball.
The three-year Cryo sleeps were good, too, for giving people their space. Wren did good when she scheduled them so there’d be overlap times. Important for cohesiveness of the crew. He’d done the same thing with his ship.
Yeah, he felt pretty good with this crew. It had taken him a while to get over resenting that he’d been pushed into going with them, but he liked them all. They all had their quirks, sure, but they all shared the same sense of adventure he had and, he decided, if he was forced to spend gods-knew-how-long on this strange quest they were on, he was good with all of them.
Not sure if they were as good with him—especially Kitten—but didn’t that just add to the fun? He liked the banter. His thoughts drifted back to the party they had after the first wormhole jump. He liked her, too, and not just the banter, although he’d never admit it to a soul.
The galley was empty, and he took his time with his meal before heading back to the med lab, where Aiko had told him meet her when he was ready. Long ago, he found out the hard way that it wasn’t good to rush your digestion with your first meal, so he took the time to savor the flavors. By crossing through the Solar Farm, he could knock twenty minutes off, so he took those twenty minutes to finish his meal.
The sterile greenhouses were long gone, replaced by Eloch’s creations and landscapes, but everybody still called it the Farm. As he followed the path by the brook, there appeared to be less water flowing, and he wondered what Eloch was up to next. The man lived to create.
Not that Grale was complaining. The more Eloch played around with the Valiant, the less it felt like a ship and the more it felt like a place to live.
Grale exited the Solar Farm and headed toward the med labs, blowing off any concerns about getting back into shape. All he needed to do was stop taking shortcuts and walk the ship. Sparring with Wren, Aiko, or Wade in the gym would help, too.
Kalea smiled at him when he entered. He nodded at Genji and Aiko. The blind girl turned her opaque eyes toward him. Those sightless eyes followed him as he joined the group sitting around a table laden with instruments and tech screens. He suppressed a shudder as he pulled out a chair and sat by Aiko. For someone who was blind, that woman sure saw a lot.
He watched them silently for a few moments as he got his bearings. Abruptly, he straightened, alert. “The ship,” he said to Aiko when she glanced at him,. “Are we dead in space?”
She shook her head. “Cut the engines. Stopped, is all.”
“What for?”
“Let’s wait for the others.”
He nodded. “Did you wake us all up?”
“Yeah.”
“I might have something,” Genji said, and Kalea leaned over him to gaze at the info console he’d been working on, their heads together and deep in conversation.
“What gives?” Grale asked Aiko.
She shook her head. “You’ll know soon enough.” She glanced down at his fist. “Relax. The ship is safe. We’re safe enough.”
He nodded and spread his palms out on the table before him. “Ho
w long have I been in the Cryo tub?”
“’Bout a year.”
“That long, huh?” His hand stole to his soft belly. Maybe there was something wrong with his tank after all.
Aiko watched him and smirked.
“What?”
She looked pointedly at the hand on his middle and back up to his face, grinning.
He felt his face pull into a frown. “What?” he said again, stressing the word.
Genji snorted, and then he noticed they were all looking at him, grinning like fools, even the blind girl.
Grale looked back at Aiko.
She started to laugh, and he felt his face heating up. “Awww, no. Tell me you didn’t,” he said.
She nodded. “Oh, but I did,” she laughed.
Kalea burst out laughing, and the blind girl giggled. Genji chuckled. Wade shook his head with a snort.
“And you all knew about it,” he accused them. He pointed at Wade. “You went along with it.”
Wade’s snort turned into a laugh.
He watched them while they hooted and guffawed, keeping his expression blank. Finally, he shook his head and glanced at Aiko. “You know this means war, Kitten,” he told her, giving her his best wicked grin.
“I heard laughter. What’s happening?” Spider asked as he entered the med lab.
The room fell silent.
“Sit,” Aiko said. “We’ll wait for Mink.”
“I’m here,” Mink said, and she squeezed past Spider and sank into the only empty seat at the table. She shot him a grin. “Hey, Spidey. You snooze, you lose.”
Spider made a face, snagged a lab stool, and wheeled it in beside Mink. “Where’s Wren?” he asked.
Aiko nodded toward a door panel that led into one of the med rooms, “In there with Eloch.”
Spider raised his eyebrows. “And Eloch?”
“That’s why we’re all here and awake,” Aiko said. She looked at Genji. “Why don’t you tell us what happened, Genj? Since you were monitoring it.”