Symbiosis Chapter 10

  With vigilance Lee thrust the accelerator to the full length of its reach and the ship began to pull away from the singularity ever so slowly, shuddering against the gravity of the invisible maw. Jackson felt for a moment that the chairs might be anchored in gelatin instead of metal.

  “Captain,” Quixote called over the intercom. “Don’t over kill or we’ll be right back in another one!”

  “Steady as we go, Lee, watch your speed, just enough to get out,” said Jackson. His heart almost pounded right out of his chest; the ship quaked harder.

  “Logs away sir,” Watson called as they pulled away from the event horizon.

  “Watch your speed, Chen,” Rougeau shouted.

  “Watch your coordinates, Jean,” he shouted back keeping his eyes on his instruments.

  “Aft view,” Jackson said to Watson. The rear of the ship appeared on the central monitor to the captain’s left. Stars, a flat black disk, and the stern fins appeared. The black spot began to shrink, the star field grew larger, the fins were exactly where they were supposed to be.

  “We’re out of it, Captain!” Mr. Lee cried, backing the power down to FTL10. All the crews shoulders dropped and the tension palpably plummeted. Jackson felt his body began to float and suddenly he sat back in the chair as the gravity ring reengaged.

  “Everyone alright?” Just a few murmurs and some nodding head replied. “Put us back on course to Eta Cass, Ensign,” the captain told Rougeau. “Lieutenant, keep us at FTL10 until we get whatever went wrong straightened out.” Jackson took a deep breath, held it, and let it out loudly. He shoved one hand through his hair wondering how much of it had just gone gray in the last two minutes. He slid out of his chair and felt gravity had returned solidly with the deceleration, stood up, and shook out his frozen muscles. “Good work, everyone.” He left the bridge and made his way to engineering without stopping. He came to the submarine door again and stepped through.

  “Captain.” Quixote walked up to Jackson before he’d ventured any deeper into the engine room.

  “I thought you said we could go to full speed? Change your mind?”

  “Not that quickly, Captain, I’m sorry I wasn’t more succinct when I spoke. I take responsibility for the accident.”

  “We wouldn’t be here talking about it if the bridge boys had been asleep. At least there were no casualties,” except, perhaps, my humor. “We managed to get out of it and we’re back on course. But I want to know what the hell went so wrong.”

  “Speed should be increased incrementally. A jump from FTL10 to ten power fifth was just too much energy at one time going into my collider. The imbalance was reflected in the gravity of Bernard’s Star.”

  “Do you have a recommendation?”

  “Of course, sir. We have this technology on Draconian ships. Protocol is to increase speed one power every, hmm, about six or seven Earth minutes. It gives time for the reaction to remix and refocus.”

  “I think perhaps you could have documented this for our helm crew?”

  “Of course, sir. After I heard you were going to the Stephen Hawking I put in for a transfer to your crew. I simply wasn’t expecting to be assigned to a tenth power vessel last minute and preparing documentation of the protocol for bridge personnel simply didn’t occur to me.”

  “Do what you need to do, Quixote, and let me know when we’re ready to go to ten P two.” Jackson placed one hand on the reptilian’s shoulder and paused. “It’s just a sign, we’re all pretty excited. Just a reminder to slow down a little.”

~~~

  “That was a hell of a Day Two,” Tom said to Rianya over the dinner table in their quarters. Zalara could feed herself, if not with the most graceful of techniques. Knives were still a contrivance for her future.

  “I don’t think the rest of the crew knew what was going on. Serious bumps, and that word you like to use, terb…”

  “Turbulence.”

  “Yes, terb oo lence.”

  “We’re on our way, finally.”

  “Did you tell the rest of the crew we were almost killed?”

  “No, and you don’t need to tell them either. Some things are best left unsaid.”

  “People will hear about it.”

  “Yes, but a ship wide announcement isn’t necessary.”

  “When do we get to Eta Cass?” Rianya asked.

  “We were killed?” a wee voice joined in.

  “No, Pet, all the bumping around this morning, the ship didn’t want to go as fast as we asked her.” He turned back to Rianya. “About fourteen weeks, three months. It should be smooth sailing from here.”

  “Are we stopping along the way?”

  “There’s no plan to, why?” Tom asked, jabbing a chunk of meat with his fork.

  “Dr. Ferris and I were hoping to study some life forms before we get to Eta Cass.”

  “Oh, Dr. Ferris, do you like her? I think she’s a good fit for the mission.”

  “She knows a lot, more than the Dr. Adams.”

  “He’s a medical doctor, not a field biologist. You’ll learn things from both of them.” Rianya didn’t respond to Tom’s comment. He looked up from his dinner and caught her eyes. “What’s bothering you?” He reached across the table to cover her small four fingered hand with his.

  “How well do we know some of the people on the ship? We had no idea the Stephen Hawking’s doctor could be so evil and we knew him for years.” Tom was silent a moment before crafting an answer.

  “No one expects a doctor to be a kidnapper,” he said as casually as possible. He kept half an eye glued on Zalara to make sure she didn’t understand what he was talking about. “He had nothing in his life to stand between him and the money. He certainly had no personality to speak of. Are you getting a strange feeling from someone?”

  “No.”

  “The doctor isn’t xenophobic is she?”

  “Oh, no, not in the least. She asks a lot of questions about my physiology. I get the feeling I’m being studied.”

  “If it’s really uncomfortable--”

  “No, Tom, it’s fine. Just different. I can manage different.” She smiled and tipped her head down a little. Tom loved when she looked up at him, her curious asterisk pupils black and well defined against the vivid plum color of her irises. Her long lashes and dark rimmed eyes needed nothing to enhance their beauty. He stole a glance at their daughter who only seemed interested in spearing food on her plate with a small fork.

  “Has she connected with the quartermaster’s daughter?”

  "We met her today, her name is Honey, I think it’s longer but she said they call her Honey.”

  “Huntington,” Tom said. “I suppose ‘Honey’ is better.”

    “I like Honey. She call me Lara,” the girl piped up.

  “Did you make a new friend today?” Tom asked her. She shook her head. “Maybe tomorrow?”

  “She and her mother are still getting settled. Cat said she’s been very busy,” Rianya said.

  “I imagine that’s true.”

  “I’ll get her involved tomorrow. It’s not like they have school to attend.”

  “Try the gym. There’s a few things in there they could be playing on, the trampoline, some of the visual and tactile games.” He finished the last bit of chicken and pushed his plate away a few centimeters. Rianya collected the dishes, putting them in a closet where they would be picked up from the outside and washed in the galley.

  “Let’s get ready for bed,” she said to the girl, and they wandered away for a bath and a story. Tom took a glass of water to the central room and settled onto the sofa, sinking into the soft cushions and leaning his head back.

  “Computer: music, file name Sinatra Two,” he said to the air, and a few moments later the old crooning sounds of American artist Frank Sinatra filled the room. The next thing he knew Rianya had sat down with him and put her head on his shoulder.

  “I’m glad you didn’t leave us behind,” she said quietly. “Wherever you go, that’s where we’ll be.” Tom put his hand on her cheek and leaned over to kiss her, softly. And it suddenly occurred to him that this was the first quiet moment they’d had in almost a week. Her hair smelled like the citrus soap and was as soft as cashmere.

  “Anywhere I go? I was thinking of going to bed.” She smiled. “I didn’t want to even consider going alone. I want you here, you keep me anchored. But I have to consider the danger that I put you and Zalara in by being here.”

  “How could I live on Earth without you?”

  “Someone could take you and Zalara back to Kinnae.”

  “Not Zalara. I not welcome with her.” They went together to their bedroom. Rianya sat on the edge of the bed, slid off her house shoes and sighed.

  “We’re going there you know.” Tom hung up his jacket and pulled off his shirt, then put it in the laundry chute. “To pick up the science team, remember?”

  “You’ll be with me.”

  “I hope the science community won’t have had the same experience we had. I know it was rough, but I bet your people will have forgotten all about Zalara after five years.”

  “No, she been put in shaman book.”

  “Rianya, don’t get nervous about it,” he said, cupping her chin in his hand as he passed by on his way to the lavatory.

  “Human hard to speak when brain think other thing.”

  “It’s just I know--”

  “You make fun my human?”

  “No! But I know when you’re anxious or nervous, and not by watching you, by listening to you.” He left the room and ran through his routine quickly in anticipation of affection.

  “My people almost kill her.”

  “They didn’t, and they won’t. I’ll be there, Quixote will be there, Scott and Chen and Stu. She needs to meet her fore parents, the other half of who she is. So relax,” Tom said. He tapped a button and the lights dimmed but for the soft glow of the large disc on the ceiling. Rianya turned the covers down and slipped her long dress off her shoulders, her hips, and then onto the floor.

  “You are as beautiful now as the day I met you.” She looked at him sideways with a grin and climbed into bed. Tom joined her quickly, pressing up against her warm, silky skin and holding her as close as possible, her head on his chest, his chin in her hair.

  “You say that to all the girls,” she said. He knew she didn’t mean it in the least, but she’d never been able to simply say thank you to a compliment.

  “I would do no such thing,” he kidded back, kissing the top of her head and shifting her closer to his body, feeling the vaguely telepathic bond they shared. As her worries faded he cherished her trust in his being her quiet refuge as well as her pleasurable storm.