Chapter Eleven: Rough Stones — Part 5
Seva looked up, surprised. “Yes sir.” Seva said, her hair still growing back in.
“I thought you’d be dead by now, to be honest.” Charles said.
“Me too. How old are you?” Seva asked.
“Twenty-nine.” Enforcer Alpha said, in a matter of fact tone.
She looked a little shocked, but her eyes quickly relaxed. “You have a real name, right. It can’t be Alpha, can it?”
“It’s Charles, but Enforcers rarely go by anything but their title.” Charles didn’t mention that he thought of himself by his first name only when he was off duty.
“May I call you Charles when in the privacy of my room and not on duty?”
“I don’t see too much of a problem with that. May I continue to call you Seva, in privacy, though your title now demands that I respect you by calling you Combatant?”
“Of course.” Seva let her legs fall out straight as she leaned back against the headboard. “Am I attractive to you, Charles – looking like I do?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve got two days, right?” She said, leaning back, crossing her legs and wrapping her arms loosely around the shins.
“Yes.” Charles said.
“You have two days off from your routine as well.”
“You are correct in that assumption.”
“As Class One Citizens, we are authorized to spend our free time together, right?”
“Yes.”
“Would you spend at least part of your leave with me?”
Enforcer Alpha nearly choked. He didn’t speak, he didn’t have to, as both of them shared a deeper understanding of the horrors that life would inevitably force them to confront. Instead, he closed the door, shutting out the sounds of the world. It locked behind him, sealing out any hopes of intrusion. Within hours of being intimate, he took from her something so many others had tried to take and failed. He broke her, and she broke him, each bonding powerfully in their lovemaking. He was gentle with Seva as they made love, and she with him as the lovemaking ended. Charles fell asleep at her side, something that had never happened to him in any previous liaison. He held her close, wishing his life were different, wishing he could express his love of another. Seva, wishing much the same, scolded herself.
Wishes and ignorance, she reminded herself, are the cause of all the woes of humankind.
She studied Charles closely, and then let herself fall asleep in his embrace, not daring to wish, for an instant, that there could be more between them. Despite the obvious fact, or perhaps as a cause of it, Charles did not depart from her quarters until their leave came to an end.
Devon stood before C’rona, his hands shaking. His partners were on his left and his family unit on his right: Susan, Robert and Loka, Drake and Laura, to his left, Julia and Stanley to his right. Even Grumpy, Drake’s four-foot long gliding lizard, had made its way to hear him speak on the results of his first experiments. The results, as it turned out, exceeded expectations. The air felt crisp, and smelled clean. He was nervous, primarily because he had just successfully completed tests on a technology that would tip the scales in favor of Antans in any conflict arising from the Cynosure’s attacking from space. His voice cracked, as his family waited for him to explain his recent creation, its purpose, and its capabilities. They were, after all, in dire need of a technological windfall.
“As you all know, I’ve been working on the faster than light theoretical drive, and have managed to create a probe capable of traveling at post-tachyonic speeds, as opposed to standard near light speeds. Human life won’t be able to survive the trip, not at this time anyway. In its present state, the probe is little more than an automated drone. We won’t have direct control over its actions, but it should give us long-range mission capability.”
“This is different than space distortion travel currently used by the Cynosure.” Julia broke in, excited. “The Cynosure uses a drive which bends space, then travels in a straight line. We are twisting space into a helix, and then traveling more or less through the center of that twist. The increase in efficiency and planar speed of travel is considerable.”
Stanley finished. “At this time, however, organic life cannot make this journey safely. Until we find a way to stabilize dimensional space within the ship, our own DNA would be damaged by the journey, straightened by the resonance with the spatial helix as the ship traveled through it. However, we are certain that we have very nearly solved that problem as well.”
C’rona clicked, a sign of approval. “Like our telescopes, these probes could be quite useful. A close-up of our enemy years before they arrive could give us ample chance to defend this planet and keep it from harm.”
“The probe is far more than just an observer. With only a one-minute data lag for every light year of distance it travels, we can easily give it orders and change its automated functions. Also, the energy that makes its travel possible also cloaks it from our enemy’s sensors, making it invisible to them until it is already on top of them. It is also somewhat artificially intelligent, smart enough to defend itself and evade while awaiting further instructions.” Devon sounded hopeful. “This is a weapon that is quite capable of being something ever so much more.”
“Due to the instability of the space around probe during transit, however, only noncombatant equipment can be safely transported at this time.” Stanley added. “With a little more extensive testing, I feel we will have a flawless tool in unmanned space exploration.”
“And planetary defense.” Julia put in.
“You’ll have a chance to test those parameters soon enough.” C’rona chuckled, though the sound actually signaled a form of distress. “Our telescopes have detected a mass of ships that have been detoured to the planet the Enforcer went to. Our sensors indicate that the craft are empty, vacant of atmosphere, and heavily armed and armored. Because of the Cynosure’s recent upheaval, we think they pose a threat to Antans.”
Devon thought about it. “Have you observed craft traveling to and from this solar system before?”
“Yes. Every five years cargo craft transport materials to the planet you call Earth, returning in a cycle for more materials. These craft are different in design, and out of synchronization with that schedule.”
“Sounds to me like the Enforcer that was after you has been given new orders.” Susan leaned back, staring off into the distance as she thought about what actions to take. “Maybe we’ll have a war on our hands.”
“Let’s wait and see what those armada craft do. Maybe they have another target. They may be going to another part of the Cynosure to suppress a rebellion. In the meantime, we’ll try to improve our defensive strategy.” Devon said. “Julia has some incredible ideas for the probe’s manipulators. If they work as well as I think they will, we may just be able to take the offensive.”
Seva studied the endless rows of cryochambers, shivering with anticipation. Drones pushed the chambers onto the ships with a mechanical rhythm that matched her heartbeat. Every sleeping casket held a warrior, in full environmental gear, ready to fight. They would rise from those coffins, ready to kill or be killed, and it made her blood stir. Where she was going, there was no telling what life, human or otherwise, awaited them. Whatever they found, she and those of her who survived the journey would destroy it. The only thing the Combatants lacked were weapons, which would be stored in cargo until the troops arose from their slumber. The new Satrap and Enforcer Alpha spoke with Commander Regus. A pilot from another heavy gravity planet, he was comfortable on Johnson’s world, if not a little snotty. Still, the Enforcer was patient with him. Commander Regus studied the load log, trying to find the best time to put the Class Ones into storage.
Seva kept quiet, afraid that if she asked to stay awake as long as possible, Regus might put them all into stasis sooner. In matters of loading, Commander Regus was in charge.
“I don’t see how we could load your conscious troops for at least four days.” Regus said finally, proving, deep down, that he wasn’t a vicious man.
“I’ll put my troops on leave then. Call us when it’s time.” Charles let his breath go in relief.
“Any time, Enforcer.” Commander Regus smiled at Seva in a fatherly way, and returned to his duties.
Charles and Seva walked back to the temple training compound. The 94 surviving trainers of the top one hundred lined up and awaited Alpha’s orders.
“We’ve got four days of freedom, then we take the big sleep. Dismissed.”
Charles pretended not to hear the cheers as the soldiers broke ranks and set out to celebrate. Charles put an arm across Seva’s shoulder, not saying a word. They made their way back to his quarters, and made love until evening.
“There’s something I’ve got to tell you, before we take the long sleep.” Charles said as they lay together.
“What’s that?”
“I think I’m in love with you.”
“I love you too.” Seva said.
“Never repeat that around anybody.” Charles warned.
“I know.” Seva said.
Holding Seva close, Charles stared at the ceiling, wondering what would happen to them once the mission was over and they got back to Earth — if they survived. The Authority would separate them as soon as it was discovered that they had formed a friendship. He didn’t dare tell her, not wanting her to know how cruel life was in the true Cynosure. He let her fall asleep, then held her, not daring to go to sleep himself. Seva’s desire to wish for a better life had just been rekindled. He would not take that hope away, when they had so little of it to share. Hope, after all, was sometimes all that stood between a soldier and death.
