Jeopardy Chap 3

“Sorry to wake you, sir, but we’re receiving a com. It appears to be automated distress signal point three light years positive 87 by negative 11.”

Jackson sat up and pushed one hand through his hair and the other pressed his face awake. He pulled on a shirt and shorts, and scrambled out of bed in the dark. Rianya pulled the covers over her head. 04:17 showed on the chronometer.

“What have you got, Mr. May?”

“I can confirm a distress signal, Captain, but can’t identify the sender.”

“Have you compared the bandwidth patterns with records from species not originating in this sector?”

“Aye, sir, but it’s unique.” The lieutenant called up a colorful diagram of sound waves. The red wave on top looked more like radio frequency, although clearly a repetitive audio signal. “The blue signals for comparison are all documented civilizations within a twenty-five-light-year diameter of Earth.”

“So, they’re beyond Beta Hydri, not between here and Earth,” Jackson said. He looked at May’s attentive face, then at the display again. “Are they drifting?”

“I pinged their ship; they’re going just under Mach 100, in the general direction of Beta Hydri.”

Captain Jackson stepped back and settled into his chair. His adrenaline was circulating but his brain was begging for a shot of glucose. A space faring species is looking for some kind of assistance, be it mechanical or medical. Normally, he had to consider if the initial meeting with a new species going to be worth the risks, anything from a hijacking, an ambush, an infectious fatal disease, a territory war, supply raid… but this time the most important factor was the crisis on Beta Hydri IV.

“Send a message to Space Admin, Admiral J P Wallace, date today. ‘Encountered an unidentified but unmistakable distress signal. S. S. Maria Mitchell will not detour in light of situation on Beta Hydri Four.”

“I’m not sure I’ve actually sent a com since taking this assignment, but, no angst, sir.”

“Never mind, then. Let Watson do it when he relieves you. An hour or two won’t make a difference. Goodnight.”

“You’re wicked,” Rianya mumbled and tucked her knees to her chest when Tom climbed back into bed and nudged her with his cold feet. He lifted a heavy strand of hair out of her face. “What was that about?”

“Distress call.”

“Are we going to help strangers instead of my people first?” she snapped.

“No.” He stroked her shoulder.

“We’re not going to help them?” She turned over to face him.

 “We would if it weren’t for the asteroid, but my job is to prioritize. Kinnae comes before assisting aliens we don’t know.”

“I’m surprised to hear you say that, but glad.” She placed her hand on his bare shoulder where he could feel the heat of her skin radiate to his own. He yawned and pulled her closer, wrapping himself around her as if she were a body-sized, heated pillow, and kissed her cheek before the personal twilight of sleep took over.

þ

Arriving on the bridge shortly after 07:00, he found the day crew already in their seats with their eyes on their instruments.

“Good morning, everyone. Anything interesting from the aliens?”

“Nothing overnight, Captain,” Chief Petty Officer Watson answered. “We’re getting the same signal with the same Doppler pattern as we were a few hours ago. However,” he continued, “They are closing and should reach us in about 25 hours.”

“Closing? What do you mean, closing?” Jackson planted himself in the center seat and perched his coffee on the armrest.

“The ship is following us, sir," Lee answered.

“That’s peculiar.” Jackson stepped into the nadir and took a look at Lee’s dashboard and imager.

“Recalculate arrival at Beta Hydri Four at FTL-10, 7^th power.”

“Seventh power? Aye sir.”

“I know what you’re thinking. Quixote has it all worked out down there. No seventh power black holes today.” Lee flushed and plugged numbers into his computer. Jackson, too, recalled a jump to seventh power which created a space-anomaly that almost devoured them.

“Negating any other variables that would shorten our trip by 47 hours, Captain.”

“Very good. Increase to seventh power. Rougeau, what’s our power consumption difference?”

Rougeau touched a few pictures on his dashboard.

“A net point three of a gigajoule per hour, sir,” Rougeau answered.

“Any dark matter, asteroid belts, rogue planets, cosmic junk up ahead?”

“No, sir, clear sailing,” he said.

“Engage, then. My experience is that we can never be over prepared, too early, or too cautious.”

Jackson left the bridge for the doyen’s office, what would have been called a ready room on a carrier or battleship. The Maria Mitchell was the first of any Space Agency ship to have an administrative office for the captain and officers. Before that, meetings were always in the mess, his quarters, or a random corridor on the lower decks.

“Quixote to the captain.”

“Good morning, Commander. I haven’t even finished my coffee.”

“My apologies, sir. We’ve had an increase in speed?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, sir, just confirming your approval. This will consume nearly 30 percent higher energy per hour beyond our current power level.”

“Yes, I want to get to B H Four and get some distance between us and that alien ship. Don’t know if there could be a life and death situation or not.”

“Not a problem down here, Captain.”

“Thanks for confirming with me.” Jackson ended the com and sat down at his desk for a second taste of morning brew.

“Captain?”

“Good morning,” Tom said. He’d skirted out of their quarters early and let her sleep.

“The aliens?”

“We’re stepping up our rendezvous with Kinnae a couple days. The aliens are following us.”

“Thank you. I just wanted an update. We’re going to the mess now.”

“Be in sick bay at 08:00,” he said.

“Yes, Sir.” Her terse voice drew Tom’s attention back to the tiny, metal grille. He should have turned on the visual first thing.

“Sorry. Ms. Rianya, would you please report to sick bay by 08:00?”

“Of course, Tom.”

He turned on his computer unit and gulped a hundred mills of sweet coffee anticipating the intercom to interrupt him again. He glanced out the window at the stars, looked at the door that lead to the bridge, stared at the intercom grille, but he sat in silence. After a full minute, he enjoyed more coffee from his oversized cup and opened the com himself.

“Jackson to Sergeant Wagner.”

“Good morning, Captain. What can I do for you?”

 “Good morning. We have a new intercept timetable with the asteroid, but the aliens sending the distress signal are following us. I’d like you to coordinate and conduct a disaster drill by 14:00.”

“For what scenario, Sir?”

“Hostile takeover and medical contamination.”

“With respect, Sir, didn’t we just do both of those in the last couple months?”

“Can’t be too prepared, to early, or too cautious, Mr. Wagner.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Attention all hands, this is the captain,” Jackson said. “Mr. Wagner will be conducting a disaster drill for unexpected emergency at 14:00. Please give him your full attention and cooperation. All hands will be at duty stations for the duration until the drill is over.”

When 14:00 came, every hand was at their battle station waiting for an emergency klaxon. A minute went by, and then another. Jackson frowned and banged the intercom.

“Mr. Wagner, this--”

WAAA WAAA WAAA WAAA pounded the eardrums of each person on the ship. The lights on board shifted from bright white to a vivid red-orange.

“Status!” Jackson shouted over the alarm.

“Doctor Adams issued an emergency alert. I’m getting a report from sick bay, Captain. There’s an outbreak of Small Pox virus.” Tom stifled a laugh given that Small Pox was eradicated in the 20th century. It would indeed be an emergency if there was an outbreak of that.

“Rougeau, seal deck three and close ventilation to secure the virus. Lee, all stop, thrusters at station keeping. Watson, compose and submit a report to Space Administration immediately. Prepare a warning buoy in case we have a breach or necessity to evacuate that section to space. And shut off that damn noise.”

“Aye, Captain.” The klaxon stopped but the red lights stayed on. Jackson pounded the intercom and sounded the boatswain.

“Attention all hands, this is the captain. Secure all stations for quarantine, deck three. Secure all stations for quarantine of deck three. Prepare escape pods for departure.

“Quartermaster, ready all EVA suits and save data and personnel records.

“Engineering, stop neutron bombardment and close all fuel ports.

“Sick bay, no ingress or egress of any crew members will take place unless authorized by myself or the chief medical officer. Prepare for sterilization procedure and isolation.

“All departments, prepare status reports and submit to the bridge com. Stand by for additional instructions. Captain out.” 

Jeopardy Chap 2

“Bridge to Captain Jackson,” the intercom squawked. Rianya looked at the ceiling; Tom blew air from his cheeks, then answered.

“Sir, we just received a communication from the BH4 science team. It’s marked urgent.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant, I’ll be right there.”

“Can I come along?” Rianya asked. Tom hooked his head to one side for her to join him.

Jackson stepped onto the bridge, tossed his jacket over the back of his chair then stepped to the communication station, loosening his necktie. Mr. May looked up and indicated a file marker on the dashboard. The captain nodded.

“Science Ship Maria Mitchell, this is Dr. Thompson from Beta Hydri Four Science Expedition. I realize you will be arriving in a few weeks, but we have an emergency. A small space body is on a collision course with BH4. We’re a biological panel; our astronomical equipment is limited so I can’t give you much more information.

“I am requesting you arrive as soon as possible to evaluate our vulnerability to the space object, as well as identify a time line and possible effects of the impact based on those calculations.

Many thanks. Please reply as soon as possible. We will be watching for it. Thompson out.”

Jackson felt his heart jump through his ribcage.

“When did they send that message?”

“Eight days ago, Captain.” Jackson turned from the lieutenant to Rianya. Her face reflected his concern back at him, her brows arched and her dusky pink lips fit together in a straight line.

“Best speed to Beta Hydri, Lieutenant.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Tom?”

“Come with me.”

Jackson snagged his jacket and headed for the doyen’s office, Rianya on his heels, her gold sateen gown fluttering at her heels. He secured the door and called Watson to join them.

“What does that mean?” she asked him. “What’s a space body?”

“Kinnae is a space body. So are the three moons, Beta Hydri, comets, asteroids, planetoids—”

“Okay,” she said holding up her hand to stop his rambling. “Your face is white.”

“It’s been a week since they sent the message. Kinnae could have been hit by an asteroid or rogue moon. They know something’s on a trajectory but they don’t know what or how long it might take to get there, or what damage it will do.”

“A planet will fall out of the sky?”

“Love, this ‘planet’ could be the size of a house or it could be the size of a city. It’s large enough that a biology team detected it. And that’s bad news.”

“So, it makes a really big hole in the ground?”

“Did you sleep through the dinosaur lecture?” Tom jerked at the flat, black noose around his neck and flung it on the table, unbuttoning his collar with the other hand. “Sixty-five million years ago a 10-kilometer asteroid hit Earth, wiped out every large reptile in a few centuries.”

“I remember something about it. Earth history isn’t my specialty.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Radiation, an impact crater, dust in the atmosphere. Blocks out the sun, kills the plants, plant eaters die, then the predators.”

“That could happen on Kinnae?” Tom sat in his desk chair and motioned Rianya to sit.

“Possibly.” Jackson opened the intercom and shut if off again. “Damn, I need to talk to Scott and he’s in sick bay.” The doorbell chirped. “Come.”

Chief Petty Officer Stuart Watson entered, already changed into a duty uniform.

“Mr. Watson. I need you to listen to this com, and prepare a status message to Space Admin. We’ll be heading directly to Beta Hydri Four at best possible speed. Send a message to the science team, too, let them know we’re on our way asap. Check with May and give them our ETA. Wish we had that quantum technology to send, not just receive from Earth. Thank you. And send Byrd up here. Dismissed.”

“Could my family be dead like Earth dinosaurs?”

“I don’t think so, Love, it would have to be a big one that hit very close to Waiso-town. Otherwise it would take a couple of years for the fallout to initiate an extinction.”

“Fall out? I not hear you talk these words in past,” she said. Her pidgin prompted Tom to reach across his desk and cover her hand.

“It’s serious, and I don’t have enough information to make any conclusions. I hate being in the dark.” He paced around the table then sat down. Behind the door chirp it was Engineer’s mate Kym Byrd, still in her dress uniform from the ceremony.

“Reporting as ordered, Captain.”

“Sit down, Kym.”

“What’s wrong, sir?”

Jackson didn’t speak but simply replayed the communication from Thompson.

“Oh, crap! That’s not good. I’ll get down to Astrometrics right away and see what I can find out.” She turned to go but then stopped and looked at Rianya. “If there’s anything we can do, we’ll do it.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s go get some coffee,” Tom said.

“I’m scared.”

The captain sat down again. He didn’t know what to do with his fingers; they seemed to keep tapping the table without his permission. Rianya’s amethyst eyes had turned nearly black; her frilled pupils had grown large and round. His chest tight and still, he realized he’d been holding his breath and released it in a controlled, measured stream.

“Let’s wait until Kym gives us the word before we start worrying about something we have no control over.” If only he believed his own words, maybe he’d stop shivering inside. “I know it’s hard but we can do something, take our minds off it for a little while.”

Rianya’s eyes narrowed and the pupils shrank to little asterisks again. She shot a poison tipped arrow at his chest.

“Let’s get some coffee and see what’s left over from the ceremony, to eat. Keeping busy and focused is important.”

“This no time for play,” she verily growled.

“Play?” he asked. He closed his eyes as her words caught up to his brain. “That’s not what I meant,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t even thinking of that.”

“You always thinking of that.”

“No, usually I’m thinking about my ship. And you. Which leads to that. But not now.” He stood and took her hand, pulling her out of the chair to take her with him on a ‘left overs’ run.

“Lieutenant May,” he called before going to the elevator. “What’s our new estimated arrival time?”

“We should arrive in the system in 4.1 days at a fuel cost of 17.2 gigajoules.

“Don’t worry about fuel. Let’s just get there as soon as possible.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Tom and Rianya walked in silence. His sight turned inside where he hoped to find that fearlessness he knew was there, if he could just dredge it up. He’d done it a hundred times before. For one reason or another, no matter how many successful missions to his credit, every time he was faced with a life or death situation, when the responsibility fell on his shoulders, he doubted his courage. Not his smarts, not his fortitude, but would he make the right choice, stand up to the threat, and be the hero everyone else believed he was.

“Where are you?” he heard. It wasn’t an angry question, but a heartfelt one. He looked down at Rianya’s empathetic face, holding her heart out to him for assurance.

“Don’t worry. I’m still here.”

“You don’t like the crew to know you are a real person, do you?” He didn’t answer her, but glanced away so she couldn’t read his face. “But they know.”

“No, they don’t. The captain is never a real person. He, or she, doesn’t get that luxury,” he muttered. They entered the mess and found some remaining sushi, chocolate cake, and the most importantly, coffee.

“You told me once that it takes strong to be weak.”

“It takes courage to be vulnerable. You’re the only one I can do that with. To everyone else I am The Anchor, their Glue.” Rianya smiled despite the crisis in the air.

They took their edible treasures to the captain’s mess and settled down at the table. Bailey’s cheerful face popped in the doorway.

“I don’t have a lot of options right now but I have some salmon with zucchini or some chicken tetrazzini with pasta.”

“We have salmon?”

“Captain, for you I have specials that I have been meting out all year. You don’t want to eat all the salmon and steak the first month and have nothing but tuna and celery the rest of the trip.” She winked and raised one eyebrow before darting out.

“This is what I meant by a distraction,” Tom said, spreading his arms across the table.

“I can’t help but wonder if everything is okay at home.” 

“Wonder is okay, worry is not. Let me do the worrying, you take care of my girls and support the med staff.”

“I can do that. But four days before we know?”

“Four days before we arrive. Scott and Kym will have some information for us in a few hours. She’ll use the hull sensors to locate the objects around Kinnae and determine what the ground crew couldn’t.”

“What’s wrong with Dr. Gregory?”

“Too much party.” She cocked her head. “Too much alcohol.” She raised her brows. “I don’t know why he got himself drunk, but he is, and I’ll find out later and then bring the gossip to you first.”

“From four days away, they can see what the people on the planet cannot see?”

“With the right equipment and knowledge, yes.”

“I didn’t think I could still be impressed by this group of people and this ship but it seems so.” She shook out her napkin and filled their glasses with water from the pitcher Bailey had brought in. Tom watched the ice cubes bob in the water and pondered the years they’d spent marooned on Kinnae, er, Beta Hyrdi Four, with no ice, and no coffee, but discovering Rianya more than made up for it. He watched her across the table, placing her napkin under the carafe to catch the condensation forming on the outside, arranging the flatware neatly beside the charger plate, then folding her petite hands to keep her fingers from drumming the table.

“Here you are, Captain, Rianya,” Bailey said, entering with two plates.

“You plan, cook, and serve. I think you should get a raise,” Jackson teased. Bailey nodded and left them to enjoy their midway-mission dinner.

“I’m going down to Astrometrics,” Tom said, standing.

“I’ll go catch up with two little girls,” Rianya said, pushing her dishes to the center of the table.

“You’ll let me know about the ass-roid?” Tom halted on the spot and bit his lip nearly to split, but the harder he tried to maintain a straight face the closer he came to a full-fledged sputtering jag of laughter.

“Yes,” he managed to get out. “I’ll let you know. And it’s pronounced az ter oid.” His chest heaved and he leaned his head against the wall, unable to keep the lid on.

“Tom?”

“But I like your… your word better!” He gulped for air and turned to face her. He physically could not stop the seizures; he couldn’t stop hearing her voice: ass-roid. “It’s perfect!”

“You make fun on my Human words. I not say it more.”

“I’m sorry,” he gagged, wiping the hint of a tear from the corner of one eye. He stumbled out of the captain’s mess and stopped to composed himself before going to the astrometric lab. He had one more snort of laughter in the elevator and the compulsion finally subsided. With the smile still on his face, he then remembered why he’d come to the lab. His longtime friend glanced up when he entered. His face might have been as stoic and serious as he’d seen in twenty years.

“Tom, you need to see this.”

“You should be in sick bay.”

"I should be here." Astrometrics was a windowless room made for three or four people to work inside at one time. A three-meter by three-meter flat monitor was built into one wall, and at the opposite end a holographic projector could display any object the user selected that appeared on the flat screen. In this case, Scott had the Beta Hydri system up on the wall, and the fourth planet of the system and the space body floating in the projector.

“Trajectory?” Tom asked. Scott tapped a key and a crimson line appeared in the hologram. It began outside the image, ran nearly straight through the center of the space body, then ended abruptly on the planet, about halfway between the equator and the southern pole. Actually, it was the northern pole, but everything about Kinnae was upside down and backward.

“Size?”

“About three kilometers, an M type.” Tom swallowed hard and sat down. His stomach had turned from hard with laughter to septic with nausea.

“How long?” he asked. Scott grimaced and folded his arms, a noisy exhale adding emphasis.

“At most 200 hours, give or take an hour; likely less.”

Captain Jackson clapped his face with one hand, pushing at his temples until they begged for mercy. Both men stared at the hologram in silence. An eternal minute ticked by.

“I’m reading most of the infrared on the northern hemisphere. Population?” Scott asked.

“Most likely. We didn’t explore much beyond the beach. I don’t know what kind of population might be on the southern hemisphere.” Tom leaned forward in the chair and rested his chin in one hand. His elbow made a small divot in his thigh. “We didn’t explore much beyond the beach. All that time and—I’ll see what Rianya knows.”

“Tom, it’s unlikely, but possible that it will break up into a few pieces in the atmosphere. Three big craters instead of one gigantic crater. It’s not real clear from this distance. I’ll know more when we cross the heliopause. The trajectory is clear. It’s headed in at 49 degrees.”

“One piece or three won’t make much difference in the long run as far as radiation.” He stared at the flat monitor, then he snapped his attention to Scott. “The beach. If the asteroid hits the ocean, a tsunami will hit the beach.”

“For now, let’s just get there. We can try to knock in a degree or two and have it skip the atmosphere, we can break it up, perhaps, but this is a done deal. Beta Hydri Four is going to be hit by this asteroid in 8-9 days, and we can’t stop it. The catastrophe will be just a matter of degrees.”

Jeopardy Chap 1

Truth be told, Earth wasn’t home anymore for Captain Jackson. It hadn’t been his home in twenty-some years. A longer mission, more time in space, was analogous to putting extra sugar in his coffee. Time didn’t make much sense anyway, not when hurtling through space at a hundred times the speed of light.

Ten months had sailed by since Captain Jackson took command of the Science Ship Maria Mitchell. When they left Earth, the plan had been to return home in twelve, maybe fourteen months at the outside. From his center chair on the bridge, he sat, calmly, and stared out the bow windows at the infinite void, an expanse of a billion stars and galaxies, scattered like a bucket of diamonds on black velvet.  

The rest of the crew, however, fidgeted in their seats as if they were sitting on anthills. All morning his bridge officers used any excuse to get out of their chairs, wander around, or visit the galley. He looked down at the vial of green crystals the biologist had just handed him.

“They’re virtually indestructible. Enzymes within the crystals protect their structure despite every test engineering has thrown at it. We’d like to name it Fearless.” He rattled the petite, lime-colored cubes.

“The Fearless Ferris Enzyme?” Jackson chuckled.

“I’ll have to work on that,” she said. Her pale side was adjacent to him; her blue eye twinkled.

“Fear exists to be conquered,” Jackson said. He leaned on the right arm of his bridge chair and put on his poker face. “It protects us, raises the caution flags, but you can’t let it be in control. It’s a tool, an ally. You stand firm and be prepared to defend the castle. Sometimes you’re forced to choose between life and death, even your own.”

“If we can synthesize enough of these crystals in microscopic form, maybe suspend them in a kind of dehydrating gel, it would be a spectacular substance to paint on the hull.”

“I’m all for it, doctor.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Dr. Ferris said with a smile. She took a step backwards and left Jackson with the helmsman, navigator, and com officer. He heard the elevator door slide shut and considered the doctor’s point of view for a moment. Appearing fearless was at least as important as actually being fearless. It was as critical a skill when standing before the enemy as it was sitting in the captain’s chair.

He held the container up to his eyes and examined the few grams of green crystals. They could be mistaken for small raw emeralds. Leave it to the doctors to come up with such a compound that would give new meaning to the term ‘indestructible’.

“Ensign Rougeau, what’s our ETA to Beta Hydri?” Jackson looked through the transparent aluminum oxynitride windows of the ship and could see the star ahead. He knew well they had a week to go, but his navigator needed something to do besides think about shore leave.

It wasn’t a star that stood out against the millions behind it except for a magnitude of negative three. If standing on Earth, it would appear brighter than Sirius, yet dimmer than Venus.

“We have 1.05 light years to go, Captain, 8.2 days, approximately, at our current speed.” Rougeau tapped several icons on the dashboard touch screen. The 3D holographic image of the aforementioned light year began to rotate until it was aligned with the galactic plane. Jackson stepped down into the nadir and placed a hand on Rougeau’s shoulder.

“We’ve gone half a light year without any hiccups. Something must be wrong.” He glanced out at the galaxy then turned to Lieutenant Lee at the helm. “Carry on, gentlemen.”

Captain Jackson headed down two decks to the galley in search of coffee. It had been hours since his last fix, and when the journey was as uneventful as it had been for a few days, he was going to need the afternoon boost to literally stay awake.

“Hi, Papa!” Zalara greeted.

“Hi, Captain-sir,” Honey said.

Each carried a drink, a nondescript something the color of pomegranate juice, and two round sugar cookies.

“We’re going home,” Zalara told him, and the two girls dashed out of the archway and disappeared. Those two had been joined at the hip from the start of the mission, but he didn’t know how much longer it would stay that way. Now, living as sisters instead of as friends, Jackson expected sibling troubles would erupt any day.

He took his coffee and decided against retreat in their quarters, knowing the two little girls would be playing in the next room. He loved his daughter immeasurably, but today he wasn’t in the mood to attend a pink and purple tea party with Honey, several stuffed animals as guests, and imaginary tea. Anyway, sitting on the floor always gave him a leg cramp.

Sick bay might have something interesting going on. If not, he could at least find Rianya in the laboratory. On the same deck as the mess hall, he walked in the door two minutes later. He looked around at the empty beds, dim lights, and silent monitors. Sick bay was as humdrum as the bridge.

“Doc? Mills? Henderson?” Met with silence, he wandered back to the lab and found his wife engrossed with some kind of sample in a petri dish. She softly tapped a tablet and a hazy image of the life form emerged in holographic, three-dimensional, full-color glory.

“Tom. What are you doing here?”

“I hope that’s not life size of that thing,” he said, pointing to the floating blue microbe, its flagella waving like kelp in a shallow lagoon. He stepped closer to the alien woman, glanced around quickly to assess the privacy factor, and pushed a few heavy locks of her hair away from her cheek to kiss her.

“Of course not.” Rianya gently leaned into him, and his cup of coffee was no longer as interesting as it had been two minutes earlier. “It’s not even alive, actually.” He slid his free hand into her hair.

“Why did you put in all the beads?” Dozens of pea-sized, glass beads in all the colors of a rainbow glinted in the bright sick bay lights. Her sable hair framed her face and cascaded down her back. “Afraid your family won’t recognize you without them?” he teased.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Only four years. People don’t change much in four years. Well, maybe Zalara has. Time is relative, especially at this speed,” Tom said, setting down his coffee.

“I haven’t been able to put my brain around the whole time-space twist. Especially with Commander Wiseman.”

“I have tried to explain it. We’re traveling in flat space, very little distortion.” He lost whatever interest he’d had in the life form swimming above a holopad. Rianya’s alien eyes, lush plum with scalloped black pupils, could still hypnotize him in a second. “Wiseman had to bend space with immense energy.”

“Forget I mentioned it. They will know Zalara by her eyes, if nothing else.” She turned her attention to the microscope.

He didn’t doubt that. Their daughter’s eyes had been, to say the least, a cause of serious consternation before she was even one large moon cycle of age. No one in her community had ever seen green eyes before. The reaction was less than welcoming; Zalara’s appearance confirmed exactly who her father was, and to her people, he was the alien.

“Where is everyone?” he asked her, finally taking a test sip of his coffee.

“Nothing happening here, so they all secured.” Tom grinned at the competency of her vernacular. When stressed she could barely put pidgin English together with any resemblance of syntax. The private moment at hand was too precious to disregard. Tom pulled her closer with one arm and buried his face in her hair, planting a series of slow, small kisses on each irregular, rose-colored blotch that ran along her hairline and down to her shoulders.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Tom whispered. The scent of lemon in her hair worked like a switch on him. Rianya squirmed, smiled, then broke into a giggle. “Let’s lock the door and turn out the lights.” The glass beads played on back of his hand.

“Bridge to Captain Jackson,” a metallic voice called.

“They have the timing down to an art form,” Tom grumbled, stretching to reach a button next to the speaker grill on the wall, but still holding his wife snug against his body.

“Permission to secure and attend the ceremony.”

“Aye, of course, Lieutenant. Call Mr. May to the bridge,” he said, and quickly tapped the button. “I have to go.”

Jackson had forgotten entirely, but wasn’t about to admit that aloud. Two crew members had earned promotions and the captain needed to be on deck at seventeen hundred to, well, promote them.

“I’ll see you there,” she called after him as he darted out and up to their quarters. Damn, he only had 20 minutes to dress and get to the podium in the reception room. Just below the bridge, the viewing deck shared the magnificent vista of the cosmos through the same windows that actually made up the bow.

Uniforms had evolved since working astronaut days when crews floated around their living habitats in T-shirts and shorts. Less than a century ago, khaki coveralls made the fashion statement on the original moon base from which Luna Colony was eventually built. Now, in the middle of the 22^nd century, aeronautical personnel dressed similar to the air armed services when on duty.

Dress uniforms, however, were substantially less practical and made for obvious formality. The higher the rank, the more obvious the un-workability of the garments. Daily wear could be cleaned by exposure to ultraviolet light, but not the ceremonial apparel.

He buttoned his jacket, burnished the lowest brass button with his cuff, then hustled to the observation deck. Most of the crew had already congregated and were enjoying assorted beverages and private conversations among themselves when he came in.

“Captain on deck!” Ensign Rougeau shouted before Jackson had made it through the door. Those not standing quickly rose to their feet and the rest snapped into a respectful attention.

“As you were,” he told them before anyone was pained. After more than a decade of commanding a starship, he could still be surprised backwards a step when every crewmember in a room would jump to attention. On an occasion of honor, he appreciated the protocol, but had made it clear that he expected the occasion to dictate actions as opposed to strict adherence to archaic military rules. Respect was earned at any level, not owed to an officer because of the stripes on his shoulders.

Maria Mitchell’s Quartermaster and Yeoman, Zoe Stone, met Jackson at the small podium to review the ceremony. She handed him two small boxes, one for Quixote and one for Wagner.

“I don’t get to do this very often,” Jackson said.

“Cake walk, sir,” Stone said with a smile. She promptly rounded up the troops and settled the room before leaving to fetch the recipients. Jackson admired her steady confidence in always accomplishing everything she needed to do, like a duck madly paddling underwater but floating serenely and calmly above the surface.

Jackson looked up and out at the small audience, all the officers, medical personnel, and mission specialists, all seated, and all dressed in formal uniforms with assorted insignias pinned to their chests. The timepiece on the wall: 16:59.

“Welcome everyone, thank you for attending. It’s my pleasure to make the following announcements and honors regarding two of our own.

“Clayton Wagner, front and center.” Mr. Wagner strode to the podium and stood at attention, saluting the captain. Jackson countered, nodded, opened the box, pulled out a bright, metal insignia, and held it up. “Mr. Wagner, over the past year you have demonstrated many qualities of a leaders and have demonstrated willingness to go above call of duty. I hereby grant you a field promotion in the North American Space Administration to Corporal, hereby granted.” Jackson pinned the coppery bronze knot on the young man’s left lapel and shook his hand firmly.

“Thank you, Captain.”

“I also appoint you to the position of Chief of Security and Armory Officer of the Science Ship Maria Mitchell.” Wagner turned to face the crew and accept their applause, then sat down with a measure of dignity in one of the open seats in the front row.

“Quixote Kee, front and center.” The only Draconian on board took three long strides and stopped in front of Jackson. At more than two meters tall, the saurian engineer would have been intimidating even if xe were humanoid simply given xs presence. “You’re dressed pretty fancy, Quixote,” Jackson said for the reptile’s ears only.

“Best I can do, Captain.” Quixote wore a dark blue cape that hugged xs body more than it draped, with a split up the back allowing for a muscular tail that counterbalanced a large thoracic barrel.

“Quixote, your leadership for the last ten months has given our crew stability and confidence in you, and I am grateful to have you aboard my ship, and not just as our engineer. You are hereby granted a field promotion to Commander. You are also the first to hold the position of the new First Officer of the Science Ship Maria Mitchell. You’ll have to do that from Engineering rather than the bridge, but I doubt you’ll mind.” 

Jackson couldn’t help but grin, looking up at the orange eyeballs with scaled brow arches. He opened the box and lifted out a gold medallion with a lush lapis center, resembling the sun with the Earth in conjunction. Jackson pinned it on Quixote’s cape, in the center, where xs heart would be, more or less. He clasped the three-digit claw, carefully avoiding the sharp tips, and shook it once. Quixote turned to face the crew for their recognition. The alien dinosaur bowed his head slightly and took the other open seat.

“Congratulations, and thank you for your past and future service,” Jackson said with finality. As the crew broke up, he stepped away from the podium and caught Rianya’s eye. He’d not noticed her standing in the back of the room; he wasn’t sure how long she’d actually been there.

“When did you have time to get into this beautiful thing?” he asked her, tugging gently at the hip of her satin, gold gown. It hugged her subtle curves like a kidskin glove, igniting his imagination for the evening. For a fraction of a second, she resembled an African lion.

“So, Blackjack, when was the last time you pissed a night away playing poker?” Dr. Gregory’s question came from behind his back, jerking him out of his bed. He jumped a centimeter to one side.

“Heh, oh,” Tom chuckled. “What made you think of that?”

“This is a party, isn’t it?” his former dormitory bunkmate slapped him on the shoulder. Tom looked hard at the man. An odd jiggle in his grey eyes told of one too many shots of something. “So, when?”

“About the last time I saw you plastered. Here, sit down, Scott,” he said, leading the astrophysicist to a chair and helping him slump into it. Tom looked at Rianya with a surprised grimace on his face. He wasn’t sure if he should leave the man or call the doc over.

“I’m not on duty, sir.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be tonight, either.” He looked from Scott to Rianya again. “Go get Adams and tell him Dr. Gregory’s... intoxicated.” She hurried off. Tom looked down at his longest friend. He rarely drank alcohol, and when he did, it was one shot, maybe, maybe, two.

“Doc’s coming; he’ll take you to sick bay, Scott. Go with him.”

“Don’t you wanna play poker? Oh, no, you wanna play black jack, right?”

Rianya and Adams returned and Adams assisted Scott and took him away from the observation room.

“What’s wrong with Dr. Gregory?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll find out later.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 57

Everyone on the ship not needed at their station crowded onto the bridge to watch as they neared the colossal ice ball to record its stats and document its characteristics. Why Jackson didn’t think of ‘Cat’s Comet’ himself surprised him a little. It was such an obvious choice, after all they’d been through on this mission. He recorded the discovery in his logs and noted the honor to York.

“I think my mom is on it,” Honey whispered, mostly to Zalara but to anyone who was in earshot as well, including Captain Jackson. “She’s riding it, watching the galaxy and flying in space.”

Jackson swallowed hard. Honey’s heartwarming comments plowed straight into his soul. No one spoke for a full minute, each person feeling the loss of their crewmate in silence. Tom felt a swelling in his throat that he forced down to bestow a eulogy on his security officer, who died in the line of duty. He stood briefly at his chair, the high center point of the bridge.

“This is always the hardest duty of mine, of any captain,” he began. “The loss of one of our own, a part of our family on this mission, is a sobering reminder of the risks we take every day. Catherine York will not be forgotten. Her death was tragically unavoidable, but it was clearly honorable, saving the lives of others in the line of duty. She was a model for those around her and she touched every member of this crew uniquely. It was our privilege to serve with her on Maria Mitchell. For that sacrifice, she will be remembered in the name of this bold, beautiful, rogue comet, Cat’s Comet. We wish her Godspeed.”

“Honors,” Zoe said, and the crew came to attention, even Rianya and the girls, if not quite as severe. Honey wept quietly, attempting to hide her emotion. Zalara held her friend’s hand. The rest of the crew maintained their composure for the longest minute of the journey.

“Reception in the mess hall at 14:00. Dismissed.”

When all but Rianya and the children had left, the captain addressed the bridge officers.

“Have we gathered a full spectral analysis, orbit projection and materials survey?”

“I have one thing left, Captain,” said Mr. Watson. “I’m getting a decay and disbursement rate.”

“Good. When you’ve all completed your scans, check with Dr. Gregory, and if he’s done, engage course to Beta Hydri Four.”

“Aye, Captain,” Lee answered.

“Come with me, ladies.”

Jackson led his family to the doyen’s office and shut the door. He motioned for them all to sit down and he perched on the edge of the conference table.

“I want you all to know I’ve given this a lot of consideration. It’s not a decision I’ve come to lightly.” He stalled, wishing he’d had something else to say but knowing, deep down, this was the right choice. “I’ve decided that it would not be in Honey’s best interest for her to become a Jackson. She has family on Earth, and such considerations deserve time and legal counsel.”

The three females were silent. That was almost as bad as if they’d burst into tears or screamed at him.

“It’s too soon for Honey to make a decision. It’s a huge thing she’s already dealing with. It’s not fair to push her to betray Cat’s memory or worry about hurting someone.”

“Papa!”

“My decision is final. However, I think, since we are the only family unit on Maria Mitchell, that we, Rianya and I,” he spoke to the girls, “will foster Honey and be her custodial guardian for the rest of the journey, or, until it seems appropriate to address it again.”

“I think that’s a wise decision, Tom,” Rianya said. “You don’t mind sharing a room with Zalara for a while, do you?” she asked their new child.

“I would like that,” she whispered. She turned to Zalara and asked her something close to her ear.

“Are she sup’osed to call you mom and dad?” The adults glanced at each other.

“No, I think for now you can just call me Rianya and call him Captain. But if later you want to, you can.” She looked at Tom and he nodded slightly, unsure if those were the right monikers but willing to settle with them for the time being.

“I’ll have Mr. Harchett and Mr. Campbell get your things, and maybe Bailey can help Zoe pack up some of your mother’s things for safe keeping. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.” Honey nodded. “Well, go back to our quarters and decide which side of the room you each get,” he told them. The two hopped up, took each other’s hand, and darted out the door.

“That took courage,” she told him, wrapping her arms around his middle. “It’s the right decision.”

“Thanks. I’m not sure we’re ready to have another family member but we’ll see how it works out. Honey seems to be taking it pretty well.”

“Don’t be fooled. She’s simply protecting her feelings. Adams told me it’s normal for young children to act as if they don’t care. They bring the hurt out later, when they are past the shock, and better able to understand it, handle it.”

“Captain, please come to the bridge,” Watson summoned over the intercom.

“I have to go to sick bay. Dr. Ferris wants to show me some information on micro biology and using a proton microscope.”

Tom looked at the color of her eyes, the deep, purple splashed with slivers of amethyst and ivory and a small lacy center of black. Still captivating, he had to shut his eyes and break the embrace or be singed by the intimacy.

Captain Jackson walked out to the bridge and stepped into the well of the bow to gaze at the vast span of black, specks of white, and clouds of every color in every direction.

“Sir, Dr. Gregory reports he will never be done with the comet but he is willing to get underway,” Rougeau said. Jackson stepped up and settled comfortably in his chair.

“In that case, men, let’s go to Beta Hydri IV.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 56

Morning broke; Rianya touched his cheek when she got out of bed, having kept her promise first. Tom simply couldn’t reconcile the doctor’s findings with his heart at that moment. Her gratification was his rapture. No human woman had ever given herself over to him like she did. And he doubted he would ever find one if he lived another hundred years. If Rianya perished someday, he would never remarry.

Rianya brought a cup of sugar-loaded black coffee to him and climbed back into bed. He didn’t indulge in it right away as usual. His thoughts started to go in circles, tighter and tighter until they all crashed on each other like nuclear fusion. Why hadn’t she become pregnant again? As much as he feared another child he also wanted another child in their family. So many decades of social pressure on Earth to limit population growth had taken a toll on children of the 22nd century. His sister had one child, he’d had none until Zalara. The negative population growth culture begat an entire generation of only children.

Maybe his connection to Honey had something to do with the population crash of an entire world thanks to the Malaria Vaccine disaster. Maybe he was recruited as a donor. Since he’d never received the vaccine, he wouldn’t pass on the defective gamete to children. That had to be it. His life wasn’t over by a long shot, and in a year, they’d be back on Earth. Like Adams said, children are created in dozens of different ways in this day and age.

“Where did you go?” Rianya asked quietly, leaning in, making playful love to his chest with her hand. He snapped back immediately, relieved that he’d solved the puzzle of Commander Wiseman. Honey must be mixed in there somewhere because she was not a vaccine victim either. When did Rianya get back in bed?

“I’m here,” he said. Her long hair brushed his ribs.

“You are now; you weren’t a minute ago.”

“Just out in space,” he said. He took the coffee and sat up against a pile of pillows. “Perfect, thank you,” he told her. “Love, we’ve never really talked about it, but are you, are we… ever adding to our family? And I don’t mean Honey.”

“I would like that,” she said. She scooted up against him with her head on his shoulder. “But I think maybe Zalara was one time lucky for Kinnae and Human genes.”

~~~

“Captain on deck,” Lieutenant Lee said.

“Good morning, everyone. Are we still on our way?” Jackson sat in his chair, his coffee in hand, and looked out at a black landscape spattered with white sparkles and discs.

“Aye, Captain,” Ensign Rougeau answered. “We’re en route to the Beta Hydri system, travel time at our current speed of FTL10 to 2nd power is five weeks, two days, nine hours.”

“Recalculate for 3rd power.” Tom took stock of the bridge. Repairs from the Pegasi incident had been completed and his crew seemed on their game. All seemed calm, promising.

“New ETA is four weeks, four days, two hours.”

“I like it. Increase to 3rd power and carry on, gentlemen. The sooner we get there and bring the science team on board the sooner we can stop twelve hours for a normal seven five life on board.”

“Captain, we received a com from the SA early this morning,” Chief Petty Officer Watson told him.

“Send it to the doyen’s office,” Jackson stood, took his coffee and closed the door behind him. The message was from Admiral Wallace.


“Hello Captain Jackson, I hope this finds you well. We have received your casualty report and send our condolences. The Administration will contact her nearest kin regarding Honey York.

Seems the Pegasi are always going to be gum on our shoes. I’m glad you were able to Cooperate with the Kiians. They’re funny people but at least not violent.

I was happy to hear Rianya has recovered from the incident with the artifact.”

Artifact? It wasn’t a stone arrowhead. It was a human body!

"The Los Angeles History Museum is anxious to add it to their collection. I’m wondering if they will put it in their anthropology department or their science department. At any rate, it’s a titanic discovery for humanity, both, the mummy and the time ship.

Our last contact with the planet Kinnae science team was about ten days ago. They are making preparations to receive you. Commander Jameson said relations with the local population are satisfactory, but they don’t interact on a regular basis. I’m not sure how that will translate for you, but Rianya will be a good ambassador, I’m certain of it.

Also, Captain, congratulations on the success in ending the pandemic on Eta Cass Five. This news has inspired doctors here on Earth that we can recover from the malaria vaccine disaster.

Finally, Jackson, I want to say, job well done. Earth has risen in credibility among our celestial neighbors, if you will, which means more trade and commerce, science and technology. I look forward to your arrival in the Beta Hydri system.

Tell my daughter that her mother and I miss her."

Tom shut the message off, refilled his coffee from the carafe that finally was there as requested, and stood up to look out the window at the cosmos. Did he dare say the morning felt good, felt normal, however normal was defined twenty one light years from Earth and heading in the opposite direction.

One of the white spots seemed slightly, ever so slightly, elongated. Was that a gargantuan galaxy he was seeing with the naked eye? He took electron binoculars off the shelf and aimed at the white spot. When he finally sited it, he realized it was no galaxy. He set the instrument down and jogged out on the bridge.

“Ensign Rougeau, turn on the starboard telescope and monitor.” The navigator did so and routed the image to both the captain’s and his own projectors. “Is that documented in our cartography?”

“I’ll find out, sir,” and Rougeau tapped up the local star maps around Eta Cassiopeia. Lieutenant Lee’s curiosity prompted him to leave his station and nose in.

“Lieutenant, take us off course and follow that comet.”

“Aye, Captain. Heading 66 degrees, -15, 08.”

“It’s not on the map, sir, I think it’s ours!” Rougeau said. Now Watson joined the huddle.

The men watched in silence. The glistening hunk of ice grew larger as they neared it. Jackson walked out to the most rostral point of the bow where he could watch their approach.

“About eight minutes, sir,” Rougeau advised.

“What system does it belong to?” Jackson asked anyone who would answer.

“There is no system on our direct course to Beta Hydri, Captain. Closest system is Cetus A and B.” A 3D holographic map appeared on Rougeau’s projection screen.

“A lost comet? Three light years from the nearest system? I’ll be damned!” Jackson whispered. “And it’s undiscovered.” He punched a button on the intercom.

“Gregory.”

“Scott, get up here. You’re gonna want to see this.”

"I just went to bed."

"On the double, Doctor."

The Maria Mitchell began to catch up to the comet racing towards its pair of red stars so far away. It was no match for the engines of the Maria Mitchell, and soon they reached its tail, a long, white and silvery spray of ice and miscellaneous cosmic elements. The beauty of this icy stone was inversely magnified by its simplicity. It tumbled slowly but couldn’t escape.

“Sir, it’s nearly a hundred kilometers in diameter,” Rougeau said.

“Look at that!” shouted Scott the moment the elevator door opened. He rushed out and hurried to stand in the glass bow of the ship’s bridge, leaning on the guard rail to keep his hands off the glass. “That’s maybe the biggest comet I’ve ever seen! Will you look at it?!” he cried.

“Don’t hurt yourself!” Tom said with a laugh. His old friend’s enthusiasm was contagious to all members on the bridge and a smile appeared on everyone’s face.

“Captain,” Chen Lee said. “What are you going to name it?” All the crew glanced at Lee, then at Jackson.

“Jackson’s Snowball?” Dr. Gregory suggested with faint jocularity. A few snickers rounded the dashboards.

“I haven’t thought about it, men, we’ve only discovered it in the last five minutes. But I will.” Jackson leaned over the helm and opened the ship wide intercom. “Attention crew, this is Jackson. If you’re not near a starboard window, proceed to the nearest and take a look. It’s possibly a rogue, or just really far from home. In any case, it’s not in cartography. We’re going to need a name for it, if anyone has any ideas.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 55

The afternoon dragged on for Tom. Sitting still was never his idea of relaxation. He’d rather be climbing a mountain, jogging down a wooded trail outside of his parent’s home, swimming ten kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, or better yet, on the bridge of the ship, watching the galaxy unfold ahead of him.

He reclined in the overstuffed chair that had become his favorite respite when proprietorially confined to quarters. The coffee in his cup tasted Colombian, the sugar was cane, and the music floating in the air sounded like Gershwin with a modern arrangement. Rianya joined him, climbing into the extra wide chair and making herself comfortable in his embrace.

Her mane encircled him; he put his face in her silky hair and inhaled the soapy citrus perfume that always dropped his shoulders and enticed him to breathe deeply.

“This is nice,” Tom said, stroking the locks of Rianya’s hair, sweeping the same few that always seemed to fall in her eyes to one side. She settled in deeper; he held her tighter.

“I had an idea,” Rianya said quietly.

“Hmmm?” Tom drifted, closing his eyes.

“Why don’t we take Honey into our family? Make her a sister to Zalara?” Tom opened his eyes and immediately thought about what Dr. Adams told him in the morning. She might have well asked him not to think about it.

“You want us to adopt her, legally?”

“I don’t know. I thought she could just live with us.” Tom lifted Rianya away from him a bit so he could see in her eyes.

“I have to talk to Mills. He’s in charge of notifying family about changes in status of a crew member. He keeps all the personnel records. She likely has grandparents on Earth.”

“It’s going to be a long time before we get back to Earth. What about until then? She’s just a little older than Zalara, and I had an older sister. It was good for me, and I for her, too.” Tom thought about that a moment. Honey was only six years old. She’d only be eight when they got back to Earth, barring any time travel issues, of course. Eight, not eighteen.

“Why don’t we ask her to think about it.” Rianya’s eyes flickered a wee bit.

“I knew you would have the smart answer,” she said and snuggled back down on him. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her warmth upon him like a blanket.

“Is something bothering you?” He was caught! Quick, don’t think about Honey, think about zebras or quasars or the plague.

“Just thinking about the plague again. Sorry.”

He loved her so deeply it physically hurt to imagine a future without her. Adams had to have mixed up one sample with another, and that answer was the one he was going with.

“When do we get to Kinnae?”

“Oh, um, six weeks. Depends on our speed. We have to contact the science team and let them know we’re on our way, finally.”

“Tonight, Bailey put together a special celebration dinner. I helped her and so did the girls, and Zoe. She had some fresh foods brought up from Cinco on the last run.”

“Oh, joy,” Tom muttered. “Cinconian food.”

“No, not the bad food, just eggs and some of their plants. Our water garden is getting sparse.”

“Think of all the things we can get on Kinnae,” he said, and finished his coffee. “I bet the science team is ready to go home, though.”

“I’m more excited than I show right now.” She lifted her head and looked directly in his eyes. The scalloped edges of her pupils seemed to mesh with the slivers of amethyst, mulberry, ­­­lilac and grape. Her eyes were the most intoxicating vision in his life, even after competing with every celestial body and phenomenon in the galaxy.

“I bet you are.”

Rianya thought excited might be putting it softly, but she didn’t have a better word in Human. Ecstatic might be a good one, or Euphoric. She yearned for her parents and sister to see Zalara, to hold them and show them how good Tom had been to her. She almost quivered and jumped forward to kiss Tom on his cheek, his jaw, and if he would just drop that shoulder she could get in there and kiss his neck too. She at least made him smile and hold her tighter.

That feeling started washing over her. That inexplicable need to be closer than touching, closer than bare skin, crept up quickly and engulfed her self-control. Tom accepted her kiss but he didn’t return the passion she wanted. He broke their bond and dried the mist from his lips.

“There are two little kids in the next room,” he reminded her.

“What does that matter? Zalara sleeps in our bed half the nights. That never stops you.”

“But Honey doesn’t.” Rianya didn’t see what the problem was. They are children, not other adults. “This is between us, just you and me, and I don’t want to share.” His need for privacy could be irritating at times. She felt his aura shrink and vanish from her; a cool fog settled between them.

“What’s going on, Tom?”

“Maybe they can both go to Bailey and Keith’s tonight, after the dinner?”

“You are not here. What going on?” She could feel a brick wall drop in front of him. “It been hard many days and I only want love you.” Tom got out of the chair and took his coffee cup to the kitchenette.

“There’s a time and place, and this isn’t it. It’s not private.” An empty hole opened up in her chest and it terrified her. He had never once turned her away before. Then she began to fill with anger.

“So, what is right for now and here if not passions?”

“I just have something else on my mind. I don’t want to worry about interruptions or disappoint you because I can’t stop thinking about that mummified…person.”

“The commander? He won’t interrupt us. I’m certain he’s dead.” She moved around in the chair until she was comfortable. No longer thinking about intimacy she wanted to know what had come up between them. How could the corpse have anything to do with it?

“Rianya, I’m not sure about keeping Honey here with us. I feel terrible about Cat, worse than terrible, but I’m not sure it would be the best idea. She doesn’t belong here.”

“What does Honey have to do with the mummy?”

“Nothing!” he asserted. Tom turned away from her and poured himself another cup of coffee. He took a sip without his customary sugar deposit and spit it back in the cup. “Blech. Sugar, it needs sugar.” He pulled a container off the shelf and fluxed in a significant quantity.

Rianya got out of the chair and marched up to face Tom where he stood. He took a step backwards from her and bumped into the countertop.

“You want some coffee? I have creamer cubes.”

“What does Honey have to do with the mummy?”

“Nothing. They’re two separate issues on my mind. I just have so much distracting me.” She considered that was plausible. She also considered he was lying. “What time is the dinner tonight? I seemed to have missed the announcement.”

“Eighteen hundred.”

“I’m going to take a shower and get ready.” Tom left the room promptly and Rianya stood alone with Gershwin drifting above her head.

So many things had happened in the last month, all starting with that dried-up body that made her so deathly ill. It was still screwing up her life. Although she’d been excited about it at first, now it was just a big problem. She followed Tom into their bathroom and shut the door. The water was running.

“Um, yes?” Tom said with a smile. He abandoned his shirt on the floor.

“Now it private.” Her dress slipped to the tile and she stepped into the shower without taking her eyes off her man, shaking her shoulders just a bit. Tom took the bait.

~~~

Bailey had put together a buffet fit for an admiral with some help from the off-duty crew. On the long table, an arrangement of fresh seaweed supported small crusty bites of seasoned bread and little colorful vegetables or fruits, something resembling tomatoes. Small roasted birds, stuffed with bread and dried fruit began the food parade. A dark red fish poached and garnished with citrus followed. A square bowl of peas and corn, and a tray of biscuits, both accompanied by curls of white butter and a dish of relishes finished the main course. Another table of assorted pitchers beckoned the diners to imbibe with colorful, sparkling fragrant liquids. At the end – sugar cookies shaped like Saturn and a dense cake of some kind covered in white icing.

“Rianya, Sweet, I want to ask you something,” Bailey said coming up behind her at the captain’s table. Rianya invited her to sit. “It’s about Honey. She’s so terribly sad every night, and I thought maybe Zalara could stay with us tonight, try to keep her busy, keep her mind off her mother.”

Rianya glanced at Tom and turned back to Bailey.

“Yes, I think it would be good for both of them. Why don’t you ask Zalara and see what she says?”

“I will. I know she’s a little young for sleeping away, but they’re such good friends, and we’re like an extended family.”

“We are a family, Bailey,” Tom told her.

“Have you two had a night alone since she was born?”

“Oh, a few times,” Tom said. He glanced down, remembering Bailey had come upon him and Rianya in the galley when they'd pushed the stock pot off the counter. Her eyes danced above her grin and she left before another word passed.

Rianya watched Tom finishing off a slice of cake. He froze and looked across the table at her with the last bite on his fork.

 

“This is really good.”

“I know something better.” He looked at his final bite and then up at her.

“You’re certainly feeling energetic today.”

“Umm,” she cooed. “Maybe I let you rest until morning.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 54

Tom broke out in a smile, laughed and leaned back in his chair.

“You got me there for a minute. Is it April first?”

“Jack, you are his great, great, great grandfather.” Tom’s eyebrows shoved together and he turned to view Adams with just one eye.

“I call bull shit.”

“I call another ancestor on his paternal side as Honey York.” Tom’s throat squeezed tight and

something invisible but damn heavy crushed his chest in.

“You’re not insinuating what I think you’re insinuating, are you? Because, no, that’s not ever gonna happen. You’ve just made a mistake, Doc, that’s all.” Tom stood up and shoved the chair out of his way.

“Jack, it’s going to happen. His body is proof of that.” Tom started to shake, his hands quivering.

“It’s not going to happen. He’s about to disappear now that you told me.”

Adams stood and came around to Tom’s side. Putting one hand on his back the doctor led him to the laboratory where at least a dozen different genomes were on display. Tom stared from one to another without any understanding of what he was looking at. Adams picked up a small pad and started pressing icons.

“These are the Commander’s gene sequences. This sequence is a perfect match from you,” Adams said. On the screen two curled waves of DNA merged and matched in shape and color before his eyes. “They’re an exact match for thousands of base pairs. The number of matches generally show how far back the ancestor is.” Tom slowly shook his head in disbelief. “These over here, the database search found a match in Honey York.” They turned to look at a different image floating before them and with a press on the icon, an infinitely long strand paired up exactly with another. “Thousands, Jack, thousands.”

“Where’s Zalara? Where’s her DNA in this guy? It’s all back asswards like Rianya’s, they would be easy to find. Honey’s… I’m old enough to be Honey’s… grandfather! What you’re saying is not only a crime, it’s abhorrent.”

“There is no Kinnae DNA. His entire genome is homochiral. Nothing from Zalara, nothing from Rianya. Just you.”

Tom stomach tightened up so small he thought he might vomit his coffee on his own feet. It was simply impossible. He refused to believe what the old man was saying.

“You have to be wrong on this. You’ve made a mistake, mixed up some DNA, everyone on this ship has a biological sample available.”

“Thomas, I have to ask you a question and I want an honest answer.” Tom shrugged. What else would he give but the truth, especially at this moment. The doctor lowered his voice. “Did you ever sleep with Cat York?”

“No! Hell no.” Tom jerked back from Adams half a meter. “Come on, Phil, who do you think you’re talking to? I never even met her before this mission. Holy shit, Doc, I know myself. You made a mistake.”

“Well, I suppose the timeline doesn’t add up,” Doc said wrinkling his mouth. “I’m looking for answers. She was pregnant when she died; you knew that?”

“I knew no such thing!” Tom stumbled back a step and found a chair. His knees didn’t want to support him anymore.

“I only know because she told me that morning, wanted to know if going on a shuttle, no gravity, would be a problem. I don’t have any fetal DNA on file, so, we’ll likely never know…well, unless a father comes forward. I assumed he’d be the most distraught man on the ship since she died…and that’s you.”

“I don’t care, I don’t know, I don’t want to know. I’m gonna be sick. Where are those pills you give me when I’m gonna be sick?” He looked around for a place to deposit his churning stomach contents.

Adams turned around to the pharmacy, pulled an antiemetic off the shelf then handed a capsule to Tom. He popped it without any water.

“You know, now, why I didn’t want Rianya to come down with you this morning.”

“This is a damn nightmare. Just when I thought the next few weeks would be smooth sailing something like this comes out of the sky!” Tom buried his face in his hands and leaned forward to put his head between his knees.

“We’ll figure it out, Jack. Don’t have a meltdown.”

“I’m not a robot; I have a breaking point, believe it or not.”

“Hi, Papa!”

Tom looked up just in time to catch Zalara as she jumped on him. Honey was right behind her, considerably less exuberant, and content to stay on the floor.

“Hi girls,” he said, giving Zalara a kiss and Honey a smile. He’d never paid a lot of attention to his daughter’s friend before, but at the moment he could do nothing else. “How are you, Honey? Is everything good at Bailey’s?” The girl nodded, but said nothing. “I want you to tell me directly if you need something, don’t be afraid.” She nodded. Tom put Zalara off his lap, but he couldn’t stop looking at the blond girl.

“Why are you girls here?” Adams asked.

“I wanted to take Honey home to play. Mama said to ask you.”

“That’s it? Sure, go!” he said with a halfhearted smile and a push on Zalara’s behind. The two scurried out of sick bay holding hands. Tom looked up at Adams. “It’s like they’re both my daughters.”

“Have you ever considered that you might have more children before you die? I have two myself.”

“You said the mummy has all homochiral DNA.”

“Yes,” Adams said.

“Why did you tell me this? Damnit, Doc!” Tom stood up and paced around the sick bay. “This future time stuff I don’t want to know. It’s dangerous.”

“It could be a dozen different scenarios, Jack. Just keep an open mind about it, that’s all you should do. Not all children are created the same way anymore.” Tom stopped pacing and leaned up against one of the exam tables, folding his arms across his chest. “Best thing to do is put it out of your mind.”

“That’s impossible.”

“You better make it possible. I’ll keep your wife away from these DNA results. You forget I told you.”

“She can almost read my mind.”

“A good reason to forget all about it, don’t you think?”

“Now every time I look at that little girl--”

“No, you won’t. I didn’t want you to be surprised by this down the road, or have Rianya stumble across it.”

“Now that I have a secret in my head she’ll know it. She has a sixth sense or something.”

“She’s a woman. Need I say more?” Tom swore he saw little sparkles in the doctor’s eyes that mocked him, but more likely it was his own conscious reflecting back on him. “I’ve got just the thing for you, Jack.” The sprightly old man trotted back to his office and returned momentarily with two glasses and a decanter of amber fluid.

Adams served two shots of the anonymous scotch. The gurgle from the bottleneck filled the otherwise silent sick bay. Tom threw back the shot and clunked the glass in front of Adams for a refill; he obliged.

“We stopped a pandemic. We deciphered a human treasure. What else can you ask of one mission?” the doctor remarked.

“No casualties?”

“Go spend some time with your family. You all need it. And stay off the bridge for the rest of the day. That’s my doctor’s order to the ship’s captain.”

“You realize you just broke every rule ever made about time travel, telling me what you told me.”

“Jack, his body didn’t disappear. On Earth, if you were flying along going home for dinner and you saw someone coming into your air-corridor against the merge, and you slowed down to avoid a collision, did you see into the future that you’d otherwise crash? You messed with the future by slowing down, didn’t you?”

“Okay, Doc. I don’t really get it but I’ll take your word for it.” Tom snatched his hat and turned without ceremony, headed for his quarters as ordered.