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.

Symbiosis: Chapter 53

With the Osprey defunct in the shuttle bay, the second team, Adams, Ferris, Byrd, Painter, Campbell, Wagner, Bowen, and the pilot Rougeau, readied the Kiian runaround that Captain Jackson had managed to borrow for a short period of time, and a large quantity of gold.

“Are you sure you can handle this dingy?” Jackson said swiping Rougeau on the shoulder. “She’s twenty years old if she’s a day.”

“Captain, you could put wings on the kitchen sink and I could fly it.” He admired Rougeau’s spirit.  Jackson didn’t want to send too many of his crew members to Cinco given the experience of the last few weeks. Chen Lee remained in sick bay with Scott Gregory.

“Adams, you’re the lead on this excursion. Get down there, get them set up, and get back up here.”

“Captain,” Ferris piped up. “Against personal wishes or not, I put a sub-dermal transceiver in every member of the team. Here’s the frequency for each person.” She handed him a data pad before climbing aboard. “You should be able to pick us up anywhere but for a maybe a few hundred kilometers of the poles.”

“Good thinking,” he said.

“I’m expecting this to take, oh, five days, now that most of the infrastructure is in place.” Adams also handed Jackson a data pad. “They need to get up to speed in manufacturing. They claim their Otars will be available, trainable, and will do the field work.”

“What about distribution and documentation?”

“Yee Akadar tells me they can handle it. Hell, Jack, if they can build a gigantic stadium and transportation systems like they have, our challenge is to turn it over to them, not do it for them.”

“I have complete confidence in you, Doc. All of you, good luck. We’ll be waiting for you.”

Back on Maria Mitchell’s deck, he closed and sealed the airlock so the Kiian dingy could leave at will. He noticed scorch marks on the jamb and decided those would have to be removed as soon as Mr. Campbell was back.

Jackson’s next stop was the galley where he made himself a cup of coffee. From there he headed for sick bay to see how his injured crewmen were faring, and to check on Wilson Mills. He’d been curt with him the last couple of days and that required an apology. Jackson didn't have a lot of experience in apologies, but he owed the man.

“Doctor Scott Gregory, you are awake,” Jackson said. His friend nodded.

“I am alive, and I understand I owe you thanks, Cap'n.”

“You’d have done the same for me. How long are they gonna keep you here?”

“Adams said another twenty-five hours. How’s Chen?”

“I stopped here first. Adams told you about Cat?” Scott’s face fell and he nodded slightly. He shifted with some difficulty in the bed.

“I wish I could have done something. She risked her life on the planet to get me away from Dukvita’s compound. She deserves a medal for bravery under fire or something, whatever we give to heroes nowadays.”

“You’re the first one conscious from the team. Can you give me a formal report?”

“Sure. It was the most harrowing day of my life. You’ve been in the military, not me.”

“Being shot at is never a pleasant experience. An adrenaline high maybe, but never pleasant.”

“Not just the shuttle, us, our corporeal selves!” Tom watched Scott’s fear seeping out as anger. He put a hand on his friend's arm.

“I didn’t plan to leave you behind.”

“I know, Tom, I’m just not cut out for deep space, I suppose.”

“An astrophysicist not cut out for deep space? Not buying it. You spent a year earning a doctorate just so you could stay home and look at things everyone already knows about?” Tom leaned back against the wall and folded his arms.

“This is my last deployment, Tom. I’m too old for this kind of adventure.” Tom moved his hand to the man’s shoulder and looked him squarely in the eyes.

“Don’t go overboard just yet. Dinner tomorrow night, Captain’s Mess.” He curled his hand into a fist and lightly tapped Scott’s shoulder before he left.

~~~

 Captain Jackson stood in the bow of the bridge and looked out at the icy planet below. The tundra poles, the snowy mountaintops, the stark white clouds, all representing the troubles and difficulty of finishing the mission in this system.

"Chief Petty Officer?"

“All stations report ready for departure, Captain,” Watson said when Jackson turned away from the windows.

“Very well then. Lieutenant Lee, please take us out of orbit. Ensign Rougeau, plot a course to the Beta Hydri system.”

“Plotted and laid in, Captain.”

“Engage when ready. Best speed to Beta Hydri Four, or as my wife calls it, Kinnae.”

“Aye, sir,” Lee answered. Jackson looked once more at the planet and stepped out of the bay, dropping into his chair. The planet began to shrink slightly, then appeared to shrink almost exponentially when Lee engaged the ISS engines.

“Quixote,” Jackson called over the intercom. “What’s your status down there?”

“We have managed to all but perfect the formula, Captain, FTL two through ten, but do please engage incrementally beyond FTL 10 to the second power."

“I remember, thank you. Gentlemen, when we are ten AU’s from Eta Cassiopeia, engage to FTL Two and carry on. Watson, please send our customary transmission to Space Admin with my logs and ship status.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“I’ll be in the doyen’s office. Lieutenant; you’re at the con.”

Jackson could breathe easier in his private office than out on the bridge. He suspected his crew could as well. He tossed his hat on the table, took off his jacket and hung it over the back of a chair, then looked around the room. No coffee. It’s 07:06 and no coffee on the table. He didn’t ask for much but a carafe of black coffee and a generous supply of sugar accompanying it was not too much to expect.

“Galley,” answered a masculine voice.

“This is Captain Jackson. I’m coming down and I’d like a carafe of coffee ready for me to collect in five minutes.”

“Apologies, Captain, Ms. Wallace is on her way with it right now.” His doorbell chirped.

“Open,” he called, and as anticipated Anne Wallace tiptoed in with a tray of morning goodies, including the most important carafe of coffee.

“Sorry I’m late, Captain, everyone is adjusting to the new routine.” She set the whole thing on the center table. Jackson didn't hesitate to grab the carafe and pour some fragrant, black courage into his favorite cup.

“I’ve adjusted to the new routine just fine. We all have a job to do; I expect the coffee here before I arrive. It’s not a heavy burden by any stretch of the imagination.” He stopped abruptly. She was a civilian, all of 20 years old.

“It won’t happen again, sir.” He looked up from his coffee at the admiral’s daughter standing artificially stiff and declining any eye contact with him. She looked like she might burst into tears.

“You’re a civilian, Wallace. Be at ease.” She didn’t flinch but to shift her gaze to his hands from wherever it was before. “I apologize, Anne. This is what happens when I haven’t had my coffee.”

“Yes, sir. Can I get you anything else this morning?” Jackson felt a twinge of guilt for calling her out over his coffee addiction, but only a twinge.

“That’s all.” He turned to his data station and tapped a few icons to get started while the girl scampered out. He thought about putting Dr. Gregory in charge of personnel, but given his state of mind his heart wouldn’t be in it. The quartermaster had enough to do as it was. It befell to him but given the small crew he could manage it. His doorbell chirped again.

“Come.” He looked up. “Hello my Favorite Mission Specialist. Close the hatch. Who’s watching Zalara?”

“She and Honey are in the kitchen getting breakfast.” Rianya sat down and looked at the coffee. “How do you drink this toxin?” Tom joined her at the table and poured another cup.

“With something sweet,” he teased, poking her lightly, and put two scoops of sugar into it. “Wait, I know what you might like.” He dug around in a nearby drawer and pulled out some small containers. “I keep these here just for guests.” He opened them and let the contents melt in her cup. “These are cream cubes.” He stirred the elixir and presented it to her with a dramatic flair of his hand.

Rianya took the cup and sipped the tawny brew. Tom waited for her reaction. She took a second taste and looked up at him over the rim of her cup.

“I like it.”

“All this time you just needed a little something to soften its intensity.” She took another drink.

“Are we on our way?”

“As promised, on our way to Kinnae. We'll be there in about six weeks. Excited?”

“Terrified.” Now the intercom chirped. How many interruptions could he have in five minutes?

“Captain,” Adams said. “I would like to see you in sick bay, please. It’s important.”

“Can I finish my coffee first?”

“Of course, Jack. It’s about Commander Wiseman; he’s not going anywhere.”

“Oh, Rianya should come too?”

“No. Just you.” Tom looked at his wife sipping coffee for the first time; she’d heard Adams but didn’t react.

“We’re having coffee here right now, so when we’re done I’ll be down.” Tom shut off the intercom.

“I don’t want anything to do with that body anymore.”

“Dr. Adams knows that?” Rianya nodded and held her cup with both hands, taking a longer drink. Tom swigged the last of his morning ambition, donned his hat, and kissed Rianya on the head before he left for the sick bay.

It certainly was nice to have the ship running normally for a change, with a repaired shuttle and repaired doors, all the crew out of sick bay, wrapping up a difficult mission and enjoying some downtime before the next one started.

“Hello, Doc?”

“Jack, come here to my office; I want to talk.”

“Sounds serious.” Tom sat across from the doctor, the desk between them. He leaned toward Adams.

“This is a bit personal.”

“You’re not gonna tell me Rianya’s pregnant are you?”

“Why does your mind go there every time I call you down? I’ve been running some nucleotide sequences on Vaughn. Rianya started several before she took ill.”

“Okay, so he’s not all human, and apparently, he’s from the future but he came here from the past. At least that’s what we think, right? What else should I know?”

“Jack, it’s more than that. Rianya’s sequences focused on the human segments; she said he had more of those to work with. She said something about notifying his Earth ancestors.” Tom nodded, waiting for Adams to get to the point. “There are some sequences not in our information banks. There are some that are.”

“Doc, you’re stalling. What do you want to talk about?”

“I’ve been able to trace his human ancestry back a dozen generations. His last fully human ancestor was two generations ago. By isolating the Y chromosome DNA, I matched it to his mother. It’s the mitochondrial DNA that has most of the variety.”

“I don't know what you're getting at but it sounds interesting.” Tom shifted in the chair and drew a deep breath to support his patience.

“So, I was thinking Rianya had a good idea to trace his human family. They may want the body, although it’s a little confusing because he doesn’t exist in our time yet.” Tom’s mind began to wander. The chronometer showed 07:51. They’d be going to FTL to the second power soon. Adams stopped talking.

“Sorry, what was that, Doc?”

“Okay, this is kind of tricky. The data on the ship preserved his personnel file. He was born in 2340. Five reproductive generations back, averaging 36 years is about 2160, give or take fifteen years in both directions.” The doctor hesitated, squirmed a bit and started to pinch one of his ear lobes. Tom waited, looking in the old man’s pale blue eyes, steady under heavy white brows.

“So, about now. I’m with you.”

“Jack…Thomas…one of Wiseman’s ancestors…is Honey York.”

“Are you kidding me, Phil? I mean, that's extraordinary.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m dead serious.” Tom’s amusement ended abruptly. He leaned forward in his chair as if that might help him understand Adams’ face more clearly.

“That mummy is sure full of surprises.”

“It is. This is confidential information,” Adams said, squirming in his chair. Tom squinted at the man and caught himself drumming his fingers on the table.

“Of course, I can keep it to myself.”

“I’m not necessarily talking about what I just told you. It’s what I’m about to tell you.” Tom’s stomach turned hard. Something bad was coming. He nodded, agreeing to keep the information confidential. Adams looked him straight in the eyes.

“Thomas, another one of Commander Wiseman’s ancestors is … is you.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 52

“We greatly appreciate your cooperation with the loan,” Jackson said. He stood inside a Kiian shuttle docked with Maria Mitchell and scanned the control panels into a translation reader. Watson sat beside him doing the same to another panel.

“I am sorry hearing about Pegasi trouble,” Prediz said with some difficulty. “Giving amount the gold buying humans capsule we is happiness a help.” Her English butchered, Jackson answered her in her own language.

“I’m sure our Space Agency will be happy to negotiate a fair price for the temporary use,” Jackson assured her. He closed up the data reader and nodded at Watson. “Mr. Watson needs some additional time to put these into something our navigator and helmsman can read. We wouldn’t want to damage your vehicle simply because of a language barrier.”

“I understand.” Jackson wasn’t sure she did, but he decided to go along with her.

“While he continues his work, please come to our mess for something to eat. Our chef has prepared some seafood, although not as fresh like your meals on Cuatro.” Prediz jigged up and down a little. He waved them from the airlock down the corridor to the mess hall.

“We have much sorrow for the loss of your woman with the Kiian language skill. We share grief with you.”

“Yes, thank you, Prediz. Please, sit,” he offered in the private Captain’s mess near the window. Bailey, Anne, and Mr. Harchett attended the table with drinks, bread, apples and smoked salmon for the small party. Vacuum preserved food such as apples and smoked meats kept well and ended up on the menu more frequently as the missions wore on. Rianya sat next to Jackson; Prediz was accompanied by Gorren, the research director who’d given them Vaughn Wiseman’s remains.

“If I may ask,” Jackson began, “do you have much contact with Pegasi on your research stations?”

“It’s been many years since we did business with the Pegasi.” Gorren said, and Prediz nodded in agreement.

“Tom,” Rianya said. He realized she didn’t understand the conversation but there wasn’t much he could do. “Ask them what they’re researching.” He nodded and did so in the Kiian’s tongue.

“We’ve been studying the life forms that survived the extinction event.” A little bell went off in Tom’s head about Kiians and Pegasi conspiring to sell antibiotics to the Cinconians. And didn’t the Kiians call the humans to come out and help? He focused on the small humanoid woman, thinking perhaps he might accidentally call her Lucy if he wasn’t careful.

“Then you’re aware of the cause of the extinction.”

“Not at first, but later we deduced it was an Earth microbe. We started searching outside of the Eta Cass system.” Tom quickly repeated her answer for Rianya.

“It’s why we contacted Earth on behalf of the Cinconians,” Gorren said. “They had no interstellar communications, and the Pegasi didn’t seem terribly interested in their situation.”

“The Pegasi were keeping them dependent intentionally to continue selling antibiotics,” Tom said. “I was told you contacted Earth to inform us about the artifacts.”

“The body was found by accident, as was the space vehicle,” Prediz explained. “We could tell it was human.”

“Tom?” Hiding his impatience, he turned to Rianya and gave her abbreviated details.

“Has it been helpful to your mission?” Gorren asked. Jackson rubbed the sudden frustration off his face with his palm.

“I’m not sure helpful is the right word, but it’s certainly caused us some excitement.”

Food was served and the conversation turned away from business and into a social assemblage. The friendly Kiian fellow on Enceladus had demonstrated enough etiquette that both Tom and Rianya could interact properly with this species’ customs, nuances, and quirks.

“Tom,” Rianya said softly, “do they know Vaughn was the vector for Yersinia? I’m curious. If they did, think of the trouble it could have saved us,” she muttered.

“Prediz, Gorren, how did Cuatro’s mammalian population go extinct? You said it was an Earth bacteria.”

“Yes, it caused a terrible epidemic among animals that have a key endothermic enzyme the bacteria need to replicate. It’s only present in mammalian species.”

“But how did an Earth bacteria get to Cuatro?”

“We suspect it was brought by another species to be used as a weapon,” Prediz said.

“Or it came on a rouge space body, but we couldn’t find evidence for that,” Gorren added.

“You have evidence for a weapon?” Jackson asked.

“It’s the only logical conclusion. Why else would a bacterium be here from 20 light years away? It’s certainly a formidable disease.” He nodded and turned briefly to Rianya.

“They don’t know,” he said. “Should I tell them?” Her gaze, her seductive eyes of mulberry held him hostage. It seemed like a lifetime since he’d held her up against his body under their favorite feather filled covers. Her raven mane had come back into its glory since she left sick bay; she’d woven several glass beads into it on one side that caught the light and reflected it like colored jewels on a black velvet sheet.

“Yes, I think you should,” she said. His gaze fell to her rose lips and his chest started to burn. “Tom?”

“Will you women excuse us for a few minutes?” he directed at Prediz and Gorren. He took Rianya’s hand and pulled her straight into the galley behind the table, letting the door swing shut behind them. Holding her by the shoulders he leaned in and kissed her lips, cashmere soft and wet. He snared her waist, pressing her hips up against his own, her bosom to his chest, his mouth on hers with a fervor.

Tom stepped toward a steel counter top, set Rianya on it and could finally clutch her tight against him, the heat of her body melting on him. A stockpot slid off the counter with a jarring KABLANG and bounced a few times. He ignored it and whatever attention it was about to draw from the galley crew. Rianya pushed him away and took a breath.

“Tom! What’s gotten into you?”

“I’ve missed you. The last week has been a living hell.” His hands slid from her cheeks into her fine hair and lifted handfuls away from her face. He saw vivacity in her eyes again, tiny slivers in all shades of purples and blues, glistening as they hadn’t for what felt like a year. He felt his heart swell inside his chest; he was high with her, holding her head in his hands as if she might slip away and leave him alone.

“What’s going on?!” Bailey shouted from the other end of the room. She came in and out of sight as she rounded large posts, tables, bulkheads and utensils until she stopped short. “Oh, excuse me, I’m sorry, Captain, Rianya,” she stuttered, giggled, and hustled back the way she’d come.

“I missed you, too. I didn’t want to die without saying goodbye, and I thought I might die a couple times.”

“I should have never left you alone if you were sick. I shouldn’t have gone down to that wretched planet while you were suffering like that. I hope you can forgive me.”

“You’re here now,” she said with a coy smile. “But maybe not, uh, right now, here, you know, with all the pots and pans watching.”

Tom grinned and put his face against her neck to nip her skin and coax a snicker from her. He purred until she trapped him between her chin and shoulder and begged.

“Tom, stop, no, not there, stop!” she pleaded amiably.

“Okay, but save your strength; you’ll need it later.” He pulled her off the counter and set her feet on the floor, tweaking her garments smooth.

“Mylan, I don’t think you need forgiveness from anyone but yourself.” It was as if she’d turned a light on in a dark room.

“Beautiful and wise. Go on out there. I need a minute.” He tugged on his trousers and jacket.

“I don’t speak Kiian.”

“You do things to me.”

“Oh… You need cold water?” She looked at the ceiling.

“Go, Vixen, or the pots and pans will be forced to watch.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 51

Bowen stood alert with a laser rifle at the ready. Jackson turned on the lights, unlocked the brig, and stepped back to allow the two Pegasi room for egress. Wagner stood behind the captain with a hand-held laser at the ready.

“Captain,” Dukvita said. “I think you’ve come to a wise decision.” Jackson didn’t answer right away. As they walked down the corridor to the airlock Jackson tangibly shook with ire. “I think--”

“I really don’t give a passionate damn fuck what you think, Dukvita. I only want you and your flying pharmacy the hell away from Cinco. You’re officially out of business in the Eta Cassiopeia system.”

“What makes you think you have any jurisdiction here, or even over me? You are still arrogant as the first day we met.”

“And you’re still as devious,” Jackson retorted.

“You’ve seriously slowed me down, Jackson. You blew up my shuttle, you’ve damaged my engines.”

“You’ve endangered my mission, kidnapped me and my crew, killed one of my officers, and disabled my ship.”

The party of five stopped in front of the airlock. Jackson pushed several icons on the control panel and the door slid aside.

“I expect you and every one of your thugs to be out of this system in two hours.”

“What makes you think you are in charge of the galaxy? You humans barely got your feet in the space but you think you are the center of everything. My mother is older than your space history.”



“Get off my ship.” The big green brutes ambled into the airlock and Jackson fittingly shut the hatch. He glanced at both security officers and dismissed them with a nod.

Jackson dragged himself to the bridge and found Quixote, May, Watson, and Rougeau on duty.

“Captain on the bridge,” Watson said respectfully, standing, as did Rougeau and May. Quixote was standing before Jackson stepped out of the elevator. “Thank you, gentlemen. I’d have someone relive you but there is no one at the moment. Watson, I’d like you to start training Zoe Stone to be your relief and cross train with Rougeau, Chen Lee should be ready for duty in a couple of days. In the meantime, I think Kym Byrd can handle the helm part time if we’re not doing anything tricky. I’ll work on the duty roster later.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind my saying, you look as if you ought to get some rest. I’m fine here if you would like to go off duty,” Quixote told him. Captain Jackson took a hard look at the reptile’s eyes, like brilliantly cut orange gemstones with round, black pupils. They’d known each other nearly twenty years.

“Thank you. I will do just that.” He put his hand on a scaled fore limb briefly before he turned to leave.

“Sir, Tom,” xe whispered. “You did the best you could.”

“I orphaned a child.” Quixote put his heavy scaled arm over Tom’s shoulders and led him away from the bow and operations to the privacy of the situation room.

“I can see things you cannot, old friend, and you are suffering. You made a command decision and saved a life at the risk of your own. She was killed in the line of duty.” Tom didn’t want to relive the scene.

“Take Maria Mitchell back to Cinco, assume orbit, and contact New Hope. Find out if their election is over and when we can come back and start over again.”

“Aye, sir. Good resting.”

Tom went to his quarters without stopping along the way at the mess, sick bay, or the gym. He’d have to be the one to tell Honey that her mother was dead, that she’d been killed doing her job, in space. It was a better truth than the factual reality. And what was to become of her? He’d brought York along because all other things being equal, she could bring a friend for his daughter.

In his quarters for the first time in days, he drowned his thoughts with a steaming shower then covered them up with clean civilian clothes. He rifled through the kitchenette cabinets and found a box of crackers, which would hold him until breakfast. He munched them down, had double shot of scotch, a large glass of water, then took himself to bed.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept, but he awoke in the dark, disoriented. The chrono showed 02:34.

“Lights half.” He blinked and saw a small mound in the center of the bed, its chestnut hair tousled on a pillow. “Lights off.” He collected the warm bundle and held it close to his chest.

“Papa?”

“Hi, Pet. Why aren’t you in bed?”

“'Cause you feel sick, but I can’t find the hurt,” she told him and yawned.

“I’m not sick, just tired.”

“I feel you hurts.” Her empathy had grown stronger as she aged; apparently now perceiving emotional pain was another of her gifts. Tom kissed her head.

“I’m okay. Don’t you worry about me. Come on, back to bed.” He picked her up and carried her into her own room. “You go to sleep now.” She rustled about half a minute then she handed her lavender shoal wool blanket to him. He covered her with it but she took it off and handed it to him again.



“You keep my squeezie tonight. You need it more, Papa. It make you sleep gooder.” He brushed some hair out of her face and put her blanket over his shoulders.

He hadn’t slept more than an hour before guilt woke him, hovering in the room. He knew it was part of the risk, part of the job, part of the tragedy that goes with the glory. Knowing didn’t make it any easier to accept. He slammed the pillow a few times and forced himself to get another hour of sleep.

“I want to see Mama and Honey today,” Zalara said. Sitting at the table, Tom looked up from his data pad and sighed.

“We will.”

Jackson had never broken such news to a child before. To adults about their children, yes, to crew about another crew mate, to a spouse about an officer, yes, but to a child about their parent, never. Both his parents were alive, so he didn’t even have a personal experience to draw upon. He’d have to ask Adams about the best approach. As captain it fell to him, and as the last one to see her, the one he didn’t choose to rescue, no other person on board should bear the burden. He looked at Zalara.

“Something terrible happened yesterday. Something no one should ever have to deal with.”

“You still hurts.”

“You’re right.” He reached out and took Zalara’s free hand and made gentle contact with her eyes. “Honey’s mama was hurt yesterday when the shuttle came back from the planet.”

“Is she in sick bay with Mama?”

“No, Pet. She was hurt too badly. Doctor Adams couldn't fix her.” Tom hesitated. “She died.” Zalara seemed to be absorbing the information in her silence.

“She can’t come back? Can I fix her?”

“No,” he said softly. “She’s dead.” The crisp emerald green of her eyes dulled and her face wrinkled.

“I need to help Honey. She will be more sadder than you. I’ll give her my squeezie.”

“That would be very thoughtful, Pet. But first let me tell her. She doesn’t know yet.”

“Who’s going to be her mama now?”

“I’m not sure, Pet.”

“She must hurt a lot. I hurt a lot when mama was sick.”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re right. She’ll need you to be a good friend even more now.”

“I liked Honey’s mama. She was nice.”

“Me too.”

“My stomach hurts. I don’t want any more breakfast. Can we go see Mama now?” Tom’s stomach also hurt. He nodded and helped her change from nightclothes into a soft blue dress then brushed her thick hair. He dressed for duty and they walked to sick bay together.

Rianya was standing up when they arrived in sick bay. Zalara ran to her; Tom was right behind. The thin woman was gaunt but she was also tenacious. She put her arms around Tom’s neck and laid her head against his chest. The three of them stood in silence in the sick bay, alone. When they separated Rianya wore tears on her cheeks, smudged by Tom’s lapels.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” she choked out. Tom usually had the right words for every occasion, but not at this moment. He barely had strength to get through it himself. He simply touched her cheek and walked away to find Dr. Adams. In the lab, concentrating on some tests, he didn’t look up when Tom came in.

“I’m sorry, Captain. She was a delightful woman.” Pushing aside some small samples he looked up and removed his magnifying lenses, dropping them on the counter top.

“Damn good crewman.” They met each other’s eyes. “I need your help.” Adams raised his brows. “I’ve never had to tell a child.”

“Ah. Yes, I can see how that might be…difficult.” The men stood side by side without any of the usual banter between them. “Just be straightforward, sympathetic, and gentle. There’s no good way to tell anyone a loved one is dead.”

“Maybe I could have saved her,” Tom uttered.

“Don’t go there, Jack. It’s a dark, immortal rabbit hole.”

“I’m not,” he said hoping to convince himself by saying it aloud. “It’s still raw. Where’d she stay last night?”

Same place she always has when York was on night shift: The Campbell’s quarters. Henderson, Wallace, and Harchett are down in the rec room with her. You want me to call her up here?”

“No, I’ll go down there. Rianya?”

“She’s run down, maybe she should stay here, but take her home tonight. Have her check in with me each morning.”

“Isn’t she here every morning anyway?”

“I have a feeling the schedules might be in need of revisions.”

A gloom of fog hung in the corridors and common rooms of Maria Mitchell. Tom and Zalara walked in silence from the to the gym.

“Papa, why do you have to tell her?”

“Why? Or why me?” Tom hesitated but only for a moment. “I’m the captain. It’s my job.”

“I thought you fly the ship.”

“Only part of the time,” he said with a wink. At that moment he didn't see anything but her face. He could have been dropped into space and still all he would see was her innocent eyes looking for confirmation in his own. She carried her purple blanket with her.

Honey bounced up to Zalara when they came in the room. The knot of three adults at the far end of the gym and nodded at Jackson.

“Honey, come and sit down over here with us,” Tom said, ushering the two young girls toward a table printed with a chessboard on top in black and white. The captain pressed an icon on the table and watched the white squares turn red for checkers.

“Is my mom back from the planet?” the blonde girl asked, looking from Jackson to Zalara and back to Jackson.

“Honey,” Jackson began. He touched her hand to focus her attention. “There was an accident with the shuttle when your mother was on her way back to you. She’d accomplished her mission, they were coming back, but the ship was damaged. She was injured badly, and--” no, more details would be a bad thing. “The doctors couldn’t help her. She died.”

Honey’s eyes welled as she shook her head. Zalara quickly pushed her lavender blanket across the table at her friend. The girl didn’t seem to want to comprehend what she’d just been told. Zalara ran around the table and hugged her.

“She’s not coming back?” Jackson shook his head slowly and swallowed hard.

“Honey, you’re safe here with us on Maria Mitchell. You may not feel very much now, or you might want to cry, and it’s okay. We’re all very sad right now, but you can talk to us anytime, anytime you want. Zalara, or Rianya, or me, or anyone on the ship,” Jackson assured her. “Do you want to stay at Bailey and Keith’s again?”

“I don’t know. Can I go?” Tom blinked a couple of times, puzzled by her lack of hysteria. He nodded and she scattered away, taking Zalara, and the blanket, with her.

Symbiosis: Chapter 50

“Maria Mitchell, come in! We’re under fire, repeat, we’re under fire! Pegasi ship has opened fire!”

“We read you, Osprey, we’ll be right there!” Jackson yelled at the com. “Rougeau, go!”

The Maria Mitchell jumped out of its orbit around the moon and in two minutes emerged from the dark side into the distinct light of Eta Cassiopeia. In the background, Cinco glowed in icy pale blue and green covered in heavy white clouds.

“I’ve got them, sir,” Rougeau said, rattling off some coordinates that Jackson ignored. He sat centered, focused out the bow windows at the space between themselves and the planet. They were still too far to see the Osprey with the naked eye.

“How long?”

“Four minutes, Captain.”

“Can they last four minutes?”

“Pegasi ship is armed but not a war ship,” May said.

“Charge the Tesla and stand by,” Jackson said.

“Aye, sir, charging Tesla.”

“Attention all hands,” Jackson voiced to the whole ship. “We are about to engage the Pegasi in combat. All hands secure stations.” He closed the channel and looked hard out the windows. “Is that the Osprey?” he asked his officers.

“Aye, sir, and the Pegasi ship in pursuit.” An orange glow from the Osprey’s rockets followed behind it like a beacon for the Pegasi ship.

“Open a com to the Pegasi spacecraft, quickly!”

“Go, sir.”

“Pegasi ship, cease fire on the shuttle Osprey or we will open fire. Your commander and crewman are on board the Maria Mitchell.”

“Maria Mitchell!” Lieutenant Lee broke in. “We’re still under fire. These bastards are serious about killing us!”

“Were almost there, Lieutenant, try dogfighting. We’re almost there,” Jackson said as calmly as he could.

“There’s the Pegasi ship!” Rougeau shouted. Jackson, May, and Rougeau all craned their necks toward the view out the bow and could see a golden spacecraft larger than Maria Mitchell on the tail of their silvery Osprey. They were just specks, but grew larger quickly. The ships came toward Maria Mitchell and she raced toward them in the blackness.

“We’re venting plasma!” came Lee’s frantic voice.

“Open the shuttle bay! Sound collision alarm!” Jackson yelled to either officer who had ten free seconds to carry out the order. “We have you in visual, Osprey.”

As Jackson tried to talk his pilot in another blast of solar yellow shot from the Pegasi ship and hit the Osprey, knocking it out of gimble.

“Get a medical team to the shuttle bay,” he shouted. “Rougeau, can you pick them up?”



“I’ll try sir,” he said. Jackson knew that maneuvering the Maria Mitchell was like sailing a battleship. He jumped out of his chair and sat next to Rougeau to control the Tesla as soon as the Osprey was clear. He was an expert marksman with a laser but the Tesla was another animal altogether. It could shoot a bolt of lightning exceeding ten thousand kilowatts and as far as ten thousand kilometers, but like natural lightning, it never took an arrow-straight course.

“They’re a hundred kilometers from the shuttle bay,” Rougeau announced. Maria Mitchell twisted in the knife fight to scoop the Osprey, obscured by her keel, into her belly. Jackson quickly targeted the golden vehicle and squeezed the handle. Power briefly dimmed throughout the ship before a streak of silver blazed out of Maria Mitchell’s muzzle. It struck the golden ship as the power resumed on the bridge, and the Pegasi vehicle was instantly stopped in its path.

Maria Mitchell quaked as it seized the shuttle; another jab of yellow voltage escaped from the Pegasi and the Maria Mitchell rocked back when the snake of plasma struck the underside. Quixote appeared at the elevator door.

“Take the con!” Jackson shouted. Before xe could answer Jackson bolted into the elevator just as the door closed. In ten seconds he was at the lowest level running down the corridor to the shuttle bay.

“Pressurize the bay!” Jackson yelled as soon as he came on the deck. Bowen and Wagner stepped in front of the captain.

“The space doors are damaged, sir, we can’t seal them.”

Captain Jackson stood at the glass panel that looked out onto the shuttle bay. The Osprey was inside, smoking from its starboard side but all he could do was stand and watch. His crew couldn’t get out, and no one could get in. He spun around and threw open a closet door grabbing an environmental suit and chucked it at Wagner, another one at Bowen, and then he grabbed one for himself.

“Take some O2 masks out there!” he commanded. He nearly jumped into the EV suit and grabbed a helmet, locking it on then slamming his hand on the override button to open the bay door. Wagner and Bowen rushed in. Although the compartment wasn’t secure enough to fully pressurize, the gap in the doors was only a few centimeters.

The security specialists unlocked the Osprey’s hatch and Wagner climbed in with the O2 masks.

“Bowen!” he yelled and waved his partner to join him. Jackson stood at the hatch and watched Wagner working to extricate Lieutenant Lee while Bowen strapped an oxygen mask on him. He looked at the other two, Dr. Scott Gregory and Sgt. Catherine York. Neither were conscious. Bowen fastened a mask over York’s face then climbed over her to get to Gregory, placing the third mask on him and fastening it securely.

“Where’re you going?” Jackson asked the security men. Both were carting Lieutenant Lee out of the vehicle by his arms and legs.

“We’re taking him to sick bay!”

“One fireman carry! I need a hand here!”

“But sir!” Wagner cried and indicated a look at Lee’s belly, fairly gushing with blood. “We can’t!” Jackson hadn’t given thought to Lee’s specific injury. He nodded.

“Go!” he told them. He looked back at the other two. Gregory was in the rear of the vehicle, unconscious, but not bleeding nor laying abnormally. York was closer to the hatch, also unconscious, and she had a serious gash on her head and burns on her chest. She was in the more extreme condition, but like Chen Lee, she’d have to be dragged out or wait for more help; she couldn’t be carried out without causing more injury.

Outside of the shuttle Jackson heard metal grinding against metal even through his helmet. He began losing his footing and felt his body lifting as if the gravity had gone out. He grabbed a hold of the grips on the hatch and saw the bay doors had creaked open a third of a meter and stars sparkled through the crack. The shuttle began to slip, several centimeters at a time, towards the widening gap.

Ohholyshit the bay was losing what little atmosphere it had and space was going to vacuum them out without mercy. He looked at York, he looked at Gregory. The Osprey slid towards the bay doors and tumbled over until the hatch was almost over the gap, breaking the hatch door off its hinges. Jackson grabbed a hold of Gregory when he tumbled toward the hatch, and did his best to lift him over one shoulder when the vacuum pressed them against the unstable breach. Jackson struggled against the extraction with Gregory on his back.

He shoved one boot heel in the crevice and forced himself up, holding onto various grooves and niches in the shuttle hull to haul himself away. Like struggling against a squall, he urged his feet forward and fell inward through the control room door, rolling over and depositing Dr. Gregory on the deck.

He clambered to his feet and pulled on the door to return for York, but it was stuck tight. He looked up and witnessed the bay doors open a full meter and pull the shuttle toward the maw until the hatch was over the break. He tried the override but the door would not unlock. From his vantage, he saw tools and portable equipment fly out of the shuttle and into space, followed by Sgt. York.

Tom shuddered with helplessness, unable to scream. He wrenched his helmet off and threw it down, shaking his head, gasping for normal air. An icy sweat broke out on his skin; his knees wavered and he dropped to the floor. Noticing Dr. Gregory seemed to be waking up. He reached a trembling hand toward the doctor's neck, seeking a pulse in his carotid. Mills shot into the control room with Wagner a step behind.

“Are you alright sir?” Mills asked. Tom could only nod at first. He felt his chest crushing in on him.

“Get... get ss-Scott to sick bay. How’s Chen?”

“Adams is worried, but I think the boys got him there in time.” Tom shivered from muscle fatigue, agonizing over what couldn’t be unseen, what he would never forget. The other two hauled Scott to a gurney just outside the control room and rushed away.

The captain slumped over on the floor, one hand on his face trying to hide from the decision. The ceiling of the control room was dark, hard, pressing. He clamped his jaw, clenched his hands into fists and slammed one into the wall. The life and death decisions were always his to make. It came with the eagles on his shoulders and was clearly defined in his job description. About the only thing he hated more than himself right now were the two Pegasi in his brig.

The shuttle shifted again with an ear-splitting BANG against the hull. He stood to see what the vehicle was doing; it appeared stable, finally. He opened an intercom to the bridge.

“Bridge, Quixote.”

“I need engineers and... a repair crew down here before the shuttle falls out of the hold. On the double,” he said coldly. He’d have to suspend grievance for later. “What’s our status?”

“Understood, Captain. The Pegasi ship is disabled and adrift. We’re at station keeping between Cinco and its moon.”

“Rendezvous with that ship. I want these pirates off the Maria Mitchell right now.”

“Aye, Captain, right away. I’ll have Byrd and Painter down immediately.”

“The bay is depressurized; they’ll need EV suits and gravity boots.”

“Aye, Captain. Sir, are you alright?”

“Jackson out.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 49

Rianya and Zalara sat together on the bed, wrapped in each other’s arms, silent, listening to Adams and Mills confer about what to do next.

“Have you behaved yourself?” she asked the girl. Her voice cracked, dry from oxygen therapy and so many days of silence.

“I missed you! You sleeped a long time.”

“I was dreaming about you. Thank you for being here. I love you to pieces,” she told the young girl. Her throat felt raw and she didn’t want to speak much. Lara’s soft hair and skin were bliss to Rianya’s hands. She could hardly stop touching her in an effort to reconnect and validate her consciousness.

Her whole body ached and it was agony to move even a centimeter. Dr. Adams came up to the bed and pressed a subdermal injection of something in her neck. Doctors were always doing things to patients without asking them.

“It’s an analgesic,” he told her before she asked.

“Something to eat,” she told the doctor. “And water,” she croaked.

“I’ll take care of it young lady. How about you, Zalara? Are you hungry?” Her sorrel hair bobbed up and down. “Dinner coming up,” Adams promised and he left the two alone.

“Can you come home now?”

“I don’t think Dr. Adams will let me. I’m still sick.”

“Hello, Love.” Rianya raised her head and her heart opened up. Tom stood in the doorway, dressed in his blue duty uniform.

“Hi.” He calmly walked in and leaned over to hold her, and Zalara as well. His body was warm, and solid, his hair soft on her face, and its amiable aroma of timber and grass woke up her senses.

“How do you feel?” he asked, petting her hair.

“Tired. Hungry.”

“You look much better,” he said, picking Zalara off the bed and taking her place on the narrow parcel of mattress.

“I look like a, oh, a zompire?” Tom tried to suppress a smile but it broke out anyway.

“A zombie, and you do not. We were all worried about you.”

“I’ve been told.” She cleared her throat with a raspy cough. The pain was fading. “What’s been going on? Is the pandemic resolved?”

“No, in fact it’s worse now than before. It’s been a long week. I’ll tell you another time.”



“It’s only been a week?” she said, laying back against a pile of pillows. She suddenly felt soft, relaxed, and not nearly so many aches and pains. She yawned and felt her eyelids droop no matter how much she tried to keep them open.

“Love, you rest,” Tom told her. She felt weightless, felt Tom’s lips brush against her cheek, abruptly took a deep breath and relaxed.

A bright sound compelled her to open her eyes. The lighting was soft, dim, and the blankets warm. Rianya snuggled down into the warm cradle, closing her eyes to blot out any distractions from the solace. Breathing was still difficult, but far from the boulder crushing pain it had been.

Yesterday, Rianya verily begged her brain for death to end the torture of the disease. Death would have been welcome if the flames within her body would have ceased. Adams, Mills, and Ferris came and went with solemn faces and low voices; Adams had reached for her face, her ears, and then she woke up to Zalara’s face a few inches from hers, her sweet jade eyes the same color as Tom’s. She was alive.

She felt a warm touch on her neck and opened her eyes.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Ferris said. “You look so much better, Anya.”

“I feel so much better. Where’s Zalara?”

“I think she and Honey are in the kitchen ‘helping’ Bailey. Do you feel like talking? I wanted to talk to you about Hero.”

“I’ll never do that again, I promise, Jane. Sterile technique from here on!” She coughed a few times and struggled to sit up.

“Not about that. While you were sick we went to Cuatro to try and get Kiians to go to Cinco and help with the plague project. They didn’t go, but they did have another interesting artifact for our museum.”

“Interesting?”

“They had a very small spacecraft that was wrecked in front, it must have crashed. When we got into it, we found out it belonged to our mummy. His name was Vaughn Wiseman.”

“Honestly?” She sat up a little higher.

“Dr. Adams took the samples you had sequenced and found that he’s mostly human, but he has a couple other gene sequences.”

“He looks human, silly ears and all.”

“On the outside.”

“So how old is he?”

“He’s not born yet.” Rianya frowned slightly and didn’t reply. “He’s from the future.”

“How can he not be born? His body is dated. He exists.”

“That’s what’s so exciting! He will be born in 2340, and in 2370 around then, he traveled to Earth 1350, more than a thousand years, and he was on his way forward when he fell out of his quantum something and crashed in 1750 on Cuatro, 400 years ago.”

“Can you say that again, slower? I thought you said a person can’t time travel. Now you sound like Tom.”

“Well, this one did. From his logs, it seems he went back to the Middle Ages on Earth to stop the Black Plague, but the 24th century cure didn’t work on the 14th century Yersinia. He and his partner caught it and were going home, apparently, we think to be cured, when they ended up on Cuatro in the 18th century. He went back a thousand years and 40 light years, but came forward only five hundred years and 20 light years.”

“He brought the plague from Earth to Cuatro? Is that what caused the extinction? How did the plague get to Cinco?”

“We think so, the mammalian extinction on Cuatro, started about 350 years ago. We haven’t nailed down the transfer to Cinco yet. Seems they probably used some of the future Earth technology to make interplanetary ships.”

Rianya sat dumfounded and blinked a few times in case her eyes and ears weren’t working correctly. Jane was perfectly serious.

“That’s…that’s extraordinary. I don’t know what to think about the whole thing.”

“Well, we can call him Vaughn now instead of Hero. He wasn’t a hero. Well, maybe he was trying to be a hero. But it got to Cinco somehow after Vaughn arrived on Cuatro. Maybe the Pegasi used it as a biologic weapon, or the Cuatrons used it as a biological weapon in a civil war, or who knows, but the timeline makes sense now.” Rianya smirked at the thought of the timeline making sense when making sense was the last thing it did.

“I wish I could help.”

“No, stay right here and just have sympathy for him instead.”

“Do you know when can I can leave sick bay?”

“I’ll tell Doc to come in. I just wanted you to know about the discovery we made and what it means. Get some rest, Sweetie.” Jane left her room. She coughed up some pinkish brown goop and spit it into a towel by her side. She just wanted to get back in her own bed with her daughter and husband and get back to normal as soon as possible.

The news wouldn’t stop churning in her head, though. A part human time traveler caused an extinction by accident. Extraordinary. It was unbelievable. Thinking about it made her tired again. Dr. Adams appeared with a tray of warm chicken casserole and hot tea, set it down, then sat in the chair next to her bed.

“You can go home tomorrow.”

~~~

“Mr. May, any word from the landing party?” Jackson paced slowly fore and aft in the bridge, absently checking the chronometer that seemed to have stopped advancing.

“Still nothing, Captain.”

“You still have a fix on the Pegasi mother ship?”

“They don’t seem to be aware their shuttle and people are missing, at least not yet.”

“I want to know the second they pull out of orbit headed in any direction.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Mr. Rougeau, are we prepared to leave orbit? I want to wait for the Osprey to return but if the Pegasi ship comes for us I want to be well ahead of them.”

“The course is still laid in, Captain, standing by.”

“Security Block to Jackson.”

“What is it?”

“Our guests have requested an audience with you, sir,” Bowen said in all seriousness.

“I’ll be there shortly.” Jackson tapped the intercom to close the channel. “You boys clear on the plan? We wait for the Osprey to contact us but if the Pegasi come we retreat.”

“Aye, sir,” both Rougeau and May answered together.

Jackson stopped in his office to check his agenda and stats before he rushed down to talk to Dukvita. It was better to make him wait anyway. Any advantage, mental or technological was welcome against someone a quarter meter taller and 50 kilos heavier who had a well-armed ship nearby. Jackson straightened his collar before he walked into the brig.

“What can I do for you, Dukvita?”



“Jackson, we’d like to engage your shuttle and return to our ship.”

“Really? That’s all?” Jackson wanted to tread gently as to avoid igniting a fire but it was hard to resist the bait. “I thought perhaps you were interested in ending your business operations on this planet so the Cinconians can end this pandemic.”

“You haven’t offered to make it worth our while.”

“Surely you have other merchandise to trade with them. I think they could use some infrastructure and a civilized way of electing their officials, not to mention robotic technology to get rid of their slave caste. I bet you could supply them with any number of more profitable items.”

“Not necessarily,” Dukvita replied.

“Certainly, you know that if you keep your customers riddled with disease they could die out.”

“Jackson, what do you want?”

That was much too easy. Red flags waved around in Jackson’s head and his attention focused sharply on the black eyes set in a green skinned head. Dukvita’s venom gland glistened as fresh olive green matter increasingly oozed. He’d never been good at poker but he could read a bluff with confidence.

“You’re the one who asked for a conference,” Jackson said.

“You offered your com system.”

“I can send any message you like anywhere you like.”

“If you let me contact my ship they will collect us and no longer be in your way.”

“You’re ending your antibiotics trade?”

“Jackson, you aren’t listening very well.”

“And neither are you. You’re no better than narcotics pushers, keeping your victims addicted and ill while you provide them with stronger and stronger antibiotics, creating a germ no one can kill eventually. We will be curing this population and there will no longer be a market for your medicinals, am I right?”

“How can you possibly cure a billion Cinconians?”

“We’ve wiped out many such diseases on Earth. Polio, small pox, varicella, eradicated Guinea worms, measles, dare I say malaria – we know what we’re doing. We’re here to help these people, not indenture them with an incurable addiction to antibiotics.”

“You humans are like that,” Dukvita said with what could only be described as a smirk on his face. “Let me contact my ship.”

“Here’s the deal, old buddy. When my shuttle returns, I’ll contact your ship and let them know you’re here. In fact, I’d be happy to deliver you if it’s convenient. Then we’re getting on with our mission while you reconvene and rethink your business with these people.” Jackson turned without waiting for an answer. “Bowen, get these fellas something to eat. I imagine they’d like to keep up their weight. Sushi, maybe?”

For once, the tight shoe was on the big green foot instead of his own. Lee and York would bring back Dr. Gregory, they’d wait out the obscene gladiator combat elections while on the ship, then get back to business and be on their way to pick up the science team on Beta Hydri Four. He strolled up the corridor toward the elevator.

“Bridge to Captain Jackson.”

“Jackson, go ahead.”

“The shuttle called in sir, they have Dr. Gregory and are on their way up, ETA fourteen minutes.”

“Excellent, thank you, May.” Jackson upped his pace.