Outpost

Outpost by S.A. Payne A side story set just before Heroes & Ghosts.

Heroes & Ghosts: Outpost Section One

(Please note, this story is several years older than anything I've posted here. It's one of my Avalon world stories and gave me the idea for Rye and Ichi and Will and well all that good stuff. Occurs before and just at the start of Heroes & Ghosts and was intended to be two stories in one. The first, which is going to be posted here, followed Jake and the dangers he faces, the second follows Mercy and Ever and their mission from hell. The idea was to inter weave the two stories, show the same day in two different lives and places but Mercy and Ever's story just doesn't want to come out and play. Which was a good thing because that sense of unfinished story took me down the path to meet Ichi and Rye. ANYWAY! This is what it is, a story of Jake and Avalon... Enjoy!)

Code streamed across Jake’s eyes and Mozart filled his ears and he floated in one of those happy, programmer’s hazes that was almost transcendental. Until his page call beeped in high pitched annoyance over his favorite aria, freezing the code in place. He sighed and tugged at the visor he wore over his face. “This had better be good, some of us work for a living.” He grumbled before sight returned and he grinned sheepishly at the man standing across from his desk. “Sorry Ben, what can I do for you?” Doctor Ben Taylor was vibrant, thirty eight and handsome. He was highly regarded in medical circles for some of his early research with the Forlin Research Group, until three years ago when he’d suddenly quit. He never explained why he left the prestigious group to apply to some of the most isolated research stations. Whatever his reasons, Jake never asked him and Ben never volunteered any information and that was okay. Most of the folks that washed up on their station had their secrets. “Only if you’re certain it won’t be a bother?” Ben mocked. “Don’t be smart, what’s on your mind to bring you down here to the pits?” “It’s a private matter.” He started carefully and glanced over his shoulder to the open room behind him. Meg was at the main console and the rest of the programmer staff were in their own cubicle offices. Jake had long since learned that programmers were territorial creatures, each needing their own defined space and had established offices for them all. They stood open to the central room with retractable clear glass walls that slide out to seal them off into their own world. Jake shrugged and with a motion of his hand the walls around his own office slid shut, sealing them in the requested privacy.

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“Better?” “Much, thank you. I’ve the results of last weeks physicals,” Ben spoke gently, lowering himself uninvited into a chair. “Bloody hell, if you broke into my work to nag at me for how much salt or beer I consume I swear I’ll program your toilet to run backwards!” Ben only laughed and shook his head. “No, for once you’re dead in your range. It must be all that yoga you’ve been doing in Julia’s class.” Jake felt the start of a blush and prayed it wouldn’t spread. “It’s a public class, you’re the only man I know that can make yoga in a room of twenty people sound dirty.” “So the gossip’s not true? You aren’t flirting with her?” “Is there a point in this conversation?” “Yes there is, while you passed with flying colors, we’ve a problem.” “How so?” “Cardel’soli Narin.” That got Jake’s attention. “He’s Research Services, if he’s ill you need to speak to Mabel, not me.” “He may be Research Services but he’s in the employ of you and Avalon. That makes you, not Mabel, in charge of him. So unless you do something, I’m going to have to recommend he be removed from duty.” “I can’t have that, he’s working on the Vendi probe programming.” Jake sighed and felt a head ache forming behind his eyes, he’d spent too many hours staring at code. “What’s wrong with him?” “That is a very good question.” “Ben, I’m too tired to play with your riddles.” “I’m not being difficult. I frankly don’t know. Do you know how little we know about Olesckians? I’m not trained to deal with alien physiology, I took the basic courses, yes, but I’m no where near competent to be dealing with some one as alien as he is.” “What do you want from me?” “I’ve sent a request, for the fifth time, to the Concord Medical Command for more information on Olesckians but some how I doubt they’ll respond any more timely this time then the last times. If you could get me those files somehow?” Ben raised an eyebrow. Jake felt his headache getting worse. “That’s asking a lot. Med Com is a tight lock up, it’s that important?” “Maybe, have you really looked at him lately? He’s loosing weight, every six months there’s less of him than before. He’s down almost forty pounds in three years and now he’s showing signs of anemia but I’ve no way of checking him or treating him. God help us if he’s ever seriously hurt, I don’t know enough about him to put him back together.” “Can’t you just ask him?”

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“Could you describe medical procedures to me on how to test and treat you?” “Good point.” “Look, if you can’t get those files, you’re going to have to do something. He’s anorexic already, if we don’t get some weight back on him I’m going to have to confine him to the med lab until I can figure out how to fatten him up.” Ben looked uncomfortable for a moment, uncertain he should say more but he set his shoulders and plunged onward. “You’re pushing him too hard.” Jake snorted. “If it weren’t for me he’d never take breaks. I turn off his system so he goes and eats and sleeps, otherwise I think he’d work until he dropped. I’m not pushing him.” “Well, you need to do more than just shut down his system. You need to make sure he’s taking care of himself. His metabolism is so high, he needs to relax and eat. He’s burning himself out, if I had any real knowledge of what the standards are for his species I’d slap him into R & R now but I don’t, so I’m just giving you a warning.” “It’s that bad?” “Jake, if something doesn’t change, he’ll be dead before the next physical. Promise me you’ll do something.” None of his normal sarcastic tone was present and he looked generally worried. “Yeah, I’ll do something, I promise.” He drew a breath and pulled his mind away from the complex problem of breaking into the Medical Command’s computer system. “Will you be at the party tonight?” “Avalon night at the Dive? Nothing could keep me away, like there isn’t a single person here who won’t be watching Tina Stemple and Inside Lives tonight anyway.” “Should we save you a seat?” “Naw, I’ve got to work late but I’ll show up eventually.” Ben stopped before leaving the almost sterile office. “Remember your promise.” “I will Doctor.” Jake sat for a moment and considered pulling the visor back on and getting back to his work but in truth his interest was gone. He tugged off the the access gloves and dropped them on his desk before he stretched the knots out of his back. Meg was still in the central room but it only took a glance to see she was only pretending to be busy. He rose and crossed the distance to where she was trying to work. She glanced up to him with casual interest but her blue eyes were bright. “Doc pestering after you again?” She brushed some of her loose curls back from her face and smiled warmly. Jake leaned his weight against the console and scanned their group of work stations. “Some thing like that, everyone gone?” “Everyone by Narin, a little while ago. I was going to come and remind you of the time but the Doc came in.” He nodded and watched Narin in his room. The glass walls were shut and the lights inside were low. He sat behind his desk with his visor on and his lips mumbled as his input glove covered hands twitched in slight, small movements. “Does he look skinny to you?” “Who? Narin?” Meg glanced to the darkened office and back to Jake before shrugging. “He’s

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Olesckian, aren’t they supposed to be skinny?” “Yeah, I mean just since he’s gotten here, do you think he’s skinnier now?” “Well, hang on a moment.” Her fingers slid across the access panel and in short order a video of one of their birthday parties came up on the display. She froze it when the camera panned over Narin. “This was just a month or so after he got here.” “Pat’s gin, I think I’m still hung over from that brew.” Meg laughed but as she glanced from the image to the man and back again she nodded slowly. “You’re right, he is skinnier. He was slender here but he looks gaunt now, huh. I hadn’t noticed.” “Aw, hell. None of us have. Do you know who he socializes with?” “I don’t know, I don’t think he does. I mean, I’ve never seen him hanging around with anyone.” “The man’s only been here three years, you’d think one of us would notice he’s around. It’s not like he blends in.” “Jake, he doesn’t want to be around us. Daniel and I tried to invite him to functions but he refused so we just stopped inviting him. I’ve seen him in the gardens, meditating.” “With a group?” “No, sometimes near one but not with. Come to think of it I don’t think I’ve even seen him eat with anyone else. He eats dinner in his rooms instead of the dive and even when we just nibble here he stays in his office. Is he in trouble?” Jake shook his head and forced himself to stop frowning, he felt like a monster now. “Naw, he’s just working too hard.” That made her snort. “That’s a fine accusation, when was the last time you took time off? I don’t see anyone else in here working other than you and Narin.” “You’re still here.” “Yes, but I’m working on a side venture, not on my slave driving boss’s project.” “Slave driving!” He laughed. “What’re you working on?” “It’s a surprise, I’m not sure I can swing it but if I can you’ll see. It’s nifty.” “Will it result in your arrest?” She looked overly innocent, a look her freckles and upturned nose did well. “Me? Do something illegal? Never.” Jake just shook his head. “Just don’t loose track of time and miss the show.” “I won’t.” He moved out of her way, now that she’d had a chance to snoop about what the Doc was doing she returned back to her own office. Gossip was almost a full contact sport on their little station and no one pretended it was any other way. Jake waited until her office walls shut and sealed her in before he moved to Narin’s office and thumbed the entrance. It instantly opened the walls for him and gave the Olesckian the alert that he had company.

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Narin pulled the visor off, blinking his too large eyes. “Sir?” It had taken Jake a little while to get used to the Olesckian. He was well over six feet tall and Jake was a short man at five foot six, his height was made even more obvious with the willow reed slenderness of his body. He looked human with a few exceptions. Olesckian ears were larger and set slightly higher on the sides of their heads, their hair was almost feather fine. Narin’s eyebrows were fine and almost invisible, the lashes around his eyes were twice as thick as a humans but the hair was so fine, so pale as to virtually be clear. Narin’s eyes were larger than a human’s, an effect made more obvious by how much larger his iris was in relation to the white. The pupil was slitted like a cats and now, with them shrunk from the code visor’s brightness his eyes looked nearly entirely made of gentle cornflower blue. His forehead was a touch shorter than a human’s, his cheekbones a touch too angular and sharp, his chin a bit too strong. His skin was corpse pale with almost a bluish tint, mixed with his pale eyes and light blonde hair he looked bleached. It made a total effect of someone so similar to human and yet so primly different that the image was disturbing. Narin looked more like a child’s drawing of an angel or elf than a human, a gentle but distorted version of a human. Olesckian physiology was just different enough to unnerve most humans, just contorted enough to make humans uneasy. “How’s it going?” He’d learned not to stare and had even grown comfortable around Narin. Before the Doctor had pointed out how little attention he’d been showing, Jake had considered the Olesckian a friend. “It progresses.” Narin’s speech had a slight lisp to it, formed because his upper lip was split. Where a human’s lip bowed, the Olesckian upper lip had a quarter of an inch split. “Would you care to examine my coding?” He always offered with humility where most programmers would violently defend their work and view his checking it as an invasion. “No, there’s no need. What’re you doing tonight?” Narin looked down to his hands and gestured weakly. “Coding, for a while yet, if you’ve no objections?” “Actually I do. My cousin, Mercy Shillelagh, she’s being featured on Inside Lives.” Narin nodded. “The one in the Psi Guard, yes I had heard.” “Did you see yesterday’s broadcast?” “No, I was coding.” “Well, tonight, Tina Stemple is interviewing her apprentice, he’s from Dornsonton.” “The Vampires?” “Yeah, it’s the first time he’s spoken publicly. I thought you might have an interest, given how few non-human races we’ve come across.” Narin nodded. “I’ll be sure to view it. Thank you.” “Well, there’s more, today’s Mercy’s birthday, it seemed like a good reason to have a party. So those of us from Avalon are getting together in the Dive and we’re going to have dinner. There’s going to be music and such, than we’ll watch the show together.” The Dive was the only place big enough to hold them all and still have easy viewing of the broadcast. It was a small station but they could be a handful when wound up. “Why don’t you come with me? Meg and Daniel will be there, Ryan and Jess too, we’re all going to be there but you.”

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Narin looked so openly uncertain at the offer, so surprised to be included that he looked even more wide eyed and young than normal. “I’m not of your people.” He answered carefully. Jake waved it off. “Only about half the station is but I bet everyone off duty shows up. What do you say?” “I shouldn’t, I’ve so much here too do.” “You skipped lunch again, you’ve put in too many hours. I’m going to lock you out of the system tonight anyway, you might as well come to the party.” Narin’s split lip twitched slightly, a sign of unspoken frustration that Jake had long since learned to read. It was a frustration Narin held in check. He didn’t have the time to waste to being locked out but he wondered if maybe this celebration was something expected. Maybe it would be unforgivably rude for him to refuse? He wasn’t certain so he nodded. “I would be honored. Thank you.” Jake figured one day the Olesckian’s manners would snap and he’d cuss him out like most of the programmers did when he locked them out. So far the man hadn’t once said a cross word to him. “Come on, off the system. Dinner will be out by now and I’m starved.” Narin pulled the access gloves off with reluctance. The skin on his long fingered hands looked too thin and the bones of his wrist, not quite in human alignment, sat under the frail skin sharply. His hands were the other major difference, the long fingers each held an extra joint near the tip and the little finger was placed slightly away from the rest and was stronger and more flexible than on the human hand. It acted as a weaker second thumb, with no where near the same degree of flexibility or versatility of the long thumb but not the weak near useless digit on the human hand. “Are you really going to lock me out?” “Yes!” He smiled to take the sting out of his words. “Gods sake, Narin, you can take a night off. It’ll be here tomorrow morning and you’re ahead on your time table anyway.” Narin unfolded from his chair and made Jake feel oddly like he was shrinking under the other’s height. “You’re certain about this?” “Come on, you might actually have a good time.” “Meg’s still working.” “On a side project,” He kept his tone scolding but it was difficult not to smile, Narin was truly addicted to his work. The complaint reminded him and he clicked on the intercom into Meg’s system. “If you aren’t in the Dive by the time the show starts I’ll lock you out of the system too.” Her laughter echoed back. “Nag, nag, nag, Christ you’re worse than my mother.” He was forced to laugh too and shake his head. “No respect, I swear, come on Narin.” The hallways were still a touch too narrow, it was a design flaw they were fixing in the new wing they were blasting from the rock below them. There was plenty of space for two to walk side by side but Narin fell in a half step behind Jake and they instantly started talking code. There were some really tricky problems on the Vendi job that Jake hadn’t known how to bypass but which Narin was solving with stunning ease. The Olesckian’s mind wrapped around the problems from such odd angles that solutions Jake never would have thought of came naturally to him.

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“Jake! Jake wait up!” Jess came jogging around the corner. “Hello Narin. I’ve been calling you for half the deck, where are the two of you?” Jess was almost as tall as Jake, her dark hair brushed out around her shoulders in a glossy fall, her eyes were nearly as dark and her skin had a pleasant duskiness to it. While Meg was nearly boyish in figure, Jess was amble, her tiny waist only accented the rest of her curves and made most of the men on the station follow her around like puppy dogs. “The Vendi project.” He answered in sheepish explanation. “I don’t know how Narin is doing it.” She nodded. “No wonder you didn’t hear me. I was on my way back up here anyway, Mabel’s looking for you. Meg said you’d just left so I thought I’d catch you.” “Why aren’t you at the Dive?” “I’m heading there now, you think I’m going to work dressed like this?” She waved at the full silk skirt and loose flowing shirt. “I’m dancing tonight! Are you performing?” “I doubt it.” “Aw come on!” “We’ll see. Where’s Mabel at?” “Oh, down at the docking tube. We’ve company. Better hurry though, Evan says he’s bringing his cider tonight.” “Great, the whole station will be hung over. I better go see what she wants, Narin you want to go ahead with Jess? You’re going to follow me?” “You think I’d miss company?” Narin just offered an uncertain shrug. Jake sighed. “Come on with you both than.”

The station had been blasted and carved from the rock of a small moon on the outskirts of Avalon controlled space. The entire base was underground and the access points for entrance or exit were limited. The only way for a commercial vessel of any size to transfer passengers was a central docking tube which extended from ship to station and had no less than three air locks. They weren’t on a highly traveled space way and received few visitors, most of the scientists and researchers liked it that way. Captain Mabel Horlench stood almost as tall as Narin but she wasn’t slender. Her shoulders were broad and strong, her body was muscular and she projected strength and competence. Her skin was as dark as Narin’s was pale, she was nearly as black as space and stunningly beautiful. It wasn’t that her features were classically attractive, which Jake found they were, it was the very fact of her presence. He’d always been attracted by strong women and he didn’t think they got much stronger than Mabel. Her eyes were nearly as black as her skin and bright with her sharp intellect, her hair was so short as to nearly be shaved and it only made her more magnetic. Jake teased her that she’d have made an excellent cult leader, her personality was so strong, a comment that always earned him a harsh look. “Well, our guests must be someone important for you to be in uniform.” She tugged at the formal jacket unconsciously. All Research Service members technically had a

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uniform, tan, well fitted pants and a simple soft fabric shirt with the formal open jacket over it. The jacket bore any rank or branch markings but it was stiff and uncomfortable. Even Mabel did without it most days and most of her people wore plain clothes, Narin was the exception, he wore the issued pants and shirts without question. “I’m glad you could be found. We picked up a distress beacon from a Point class Fleet transport ship a few hours ago, seems they’ve had some technical failure and need a place to dock for repairs. I didn’t think you’d mind given the fact it was here or vacuum.” “That’s me, the good neighbor.” Mabel looked up to the tall Olesckian. “It’s good you’re here too Narin, I was going to try to page you.” The final lock beeped and ended it’s cycle and the tube door slid open. “Try to look official Jake.” The door opened and four young men and women in crisp Fleet uniforms spilled out. They were armed and the weapons were drawn and not in their holsters, each one moved quickly too take up a position in the hallway, surrounding the small station party and watching for the approach of anyone not directly in sight. Jess bristled but Jake put a hand on her arm. “Mabel, are we being invaded?” He asked in a careful, steady voice. “Four people doesn’t really qualify as an invasion.” A teasing voice answered from the lock before Mabel could. The man that joined them was young, maybe thirty and classically featured though Jake couldn’t say he liked the look of him. His uniform was as proper as his advance crewmen and he moved with a commanding air. He offered a crisp salute to Mabel, ignoring Jake and the others. “Permission to board, Captain?” She returned it feeling silly at the formality. “You have the Service’s permission but you’ll need to get Dr. Jake Ellia’s as well.” The Fleet officer looked to the informally dressed, small man beside the powerful woman and raised an eyebrow. “Our charts show this to be a Research Services station.” “It is, but we’re only renting it. You’re in Avalon space Captain, Dr. Ellia is the administrator for his world.” She explained carefully. Jake smiled wickedly. “Hey, Flash Gordan, care to explain why you’ve armed officers on my station without permission?” “Flash what?” The Captain asked and Jess snickered. “Jake, they’re transporting a cultural treasure, they take their job seriously. I already gave the okay that they could secure the hallway. This is Captain Elliot Gore of the Drake Moore.” “General Barvain Gore’s son?” Jess pushed her way forward. Gore stood a little straighter. “Yes.” “Butcher Barvain?” “My father is an honored and noble man. He received several of the highest decorations for his campaign against your people. He was a respected and honorable man.” The Captain snapped back. Jess growled and charged unthinkingly toward the Fleet officer. Jake caught her and she clawed at him as he pulled her down the hallway. She was still fighting against him as he slammed her into the wall. “Control yourself!” He shook her hard. “Do you hear me?”

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Some of her rage faded and she nodded but her pretty face was still screwed up with hate. “Yeah, I hear you.” “Good, now if you say one more word or move from this spot the fine Captain here won’t need to have his people shoot you, I’ll do it myself.” She shook off his hands and the anger was quickly turning into hurt, she wiped at her eyes and paced away from the small group. “I’ll behave.” “Good.” Jake drew a breath and was almost grateful she’d charged the man, it kept him from doing the same. “Now, Captain, how badly off is your ship? Are you limping, I highly suggest if you can lag your way to another station you take the chance. You are not welcome here, not all of my people are as forgiving as Jess is.” None of the man’s confidence was shaken. “Life support won’t make it, we had to jerry rig it to make it this far.” Jake cursed purely internally. “So be it, on a few conditions. You personally will not set another foot on this station, we aren’t a fancy Fleet base, accidents happen here and I’d be right sorry if you befell one. Do we understand one another?” The Captain nodded. “I believe we do.” “Second, you keep your crew off of here.” “We’ve been in space for weeks, my crew is small but could use a break. I’ll promise they are respectful but I beg a chance for them to find rest.” “We aren’t a recreation facility.” “I’m aware of that but even different walls to stare at will help.” Jake wanted to refuse but it was a proper request and he was too kind of a man to be cruel. “Only in small groups and if there’s any trouble they go back.” “Agreed. Additionally, my passengers must be housed here. I won’t risk them to an iffy life support and I must keep a guard on them. I won’t stand for them to befall an accident. Your station is secure, is it not?” “They’ll be safe here, who are they?” Gore waved behind him and the party that had hovered in the lock moved forward. Before they were insight, Narin’s breath hissed in his throat and he stepped back. A half dozen Olesckians moved forward, but only one, a man, stepped forward to stand beside the Captain. They all were tall and willowy but it was easy to see that Narin was underweight compared to the vital grace of the others of his kind. Each were pale but some of their hair leaned toward tints, two had almost pinkish tones and one had a blue hint. Their features had a racial similarity but subtle differences, their eyes were all light in color but ranged from blue to grey to pink and they watched the scene in the hallway with their wide unblinking stares. The man that had stepped forward could have been a clone of Narin. His hair was the same pale blonde, his features were almost identical and they had the same pale cornflower blue eyes. They drifted over Narin, across Jake and settled on Mabel. He was dressed as they all were, loose, flowing clothes in pale colors, his long hair held back with tiny beaded threads woven throughout and the group nearly projected peace and ease.

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“Dr. Jake Ellia, Captain Mabel Horlench, my I introduce you to Cardel’soli Flick and his party.” He handed over a memory chip to Mabel. “If you would be so kind as to see this gets delivered to the hands of your medical officer? It contains the necessary information about the Olesckians should the unthinkable happen.” If Jake hadn’t been so surprised by the Oleskian’s name he would have laughed at the irony of suddenly having the very same medical information Ben had been begging for hand delivered to them. “Cardel’soli?” He turned to where Narin stood, almost pressed against the wall. His eyes were downcast and he seemed to be trying as hard to ignore the Olesckian party as they were ignoring him. “A relation?” Narin nodded slightly. “My brother.” He murmured. “Your brother?” “I’m sorry Doctor, there’s been a misunderstanding.” Cardel’soli Flick smiled softly, his eyes steady and he bowed his head slightly. “My brother died almost five years ago. Thank you for allowing us the use of your facilities, I promise we’ll endeavor to cause the least amount of disruption possible.” “What do you mean he died, he’s standing right here, I,” Jake stopped at the slight touch on his arm from Narin. The surprise of the contact as much as the contact itself caused his protests to end. Narin had never made physical contact with anyone if he could avoid it. “Please, leave it be.” His eyes were wide and his face was blank but Jake felt the man’s aching grief. “Very well. Jess, think you can settle Mr. Cardel’soli and his group into some rooms where they won’t be disturbed?” He met her eye and held it. She nodded and understood his meaning, her eyes flicked to where Narin stood and back to her boss. “I can mange that.” She wasn’t stupid, the Olesckain party would be placed as far from Narin as she could manage. “Good, now, if there’s nothing more?” Mabel asked as she looked around. “There is, Captain Gore. If any of my people assigned to assist in the repair of your vessel are mocked or mistreated I damned well will ship you off this rock, with or without the repairs done.” He met the young Captain’s eye and held it, it made him ill to think they were aiding the offspring of the General that had nearly wiped them out of existence. “Fleet members have discipline.” Gore answered and he glanced lazily toward Jess. With a few spoken orders two of the armed troops returned to the tube and two broke off to follow the Olesckians and Jess into the station. Jake placed a hand on Narin’s elbow and guided the man in the opposite direction, leaving Mabel to finish up any remaining formalities. Neither spoke as they wound across hallways and it wasn’t until they were several corridors away that Jake broke down and asked. “Your brother?” Narin shook his head. “I’d rather not speak of it. It doesn’t matter.” “Narin.” “Please.”

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“Look, I’ve always believed that every hand here has a right to privacy, so long as they cause no trouble and do their work but Narin, I don’t understand.” Sadness was an expression the Olesckian features portrayed well and Narin looked tragically sad as he struggled to explain in as few words as possible. “I’ve done things that are,” he had to pause and look away, searching for a word strong enough, “abhorrent to my people. Because of that I’ve been shunned and am dead to them. Please, ask no more of me.” The pain in the tall alien was strong enough to make Jake’s own soul ache. He nodded solemnly and understood a little better the man’s isolation. “Well, you aren’t dead to me nor to the people here. Come on, let’s get dinner.” Narin stopped. “I should return to my work.” “Not going to happen. Besides, knowing Meg she’s already told everyone you’ll be there and if you don’t show up they’ll worry about you. Come on, you need a night off. We’ll see if Olesckians can get drunk.” He clapped the man on the back and carried him along with him out of sheer will. Narin dragged his feet but followed, too depressed to protest further and unwilling to offend the people he lived around.

The Dive had started it’s life with the full intentions of being another research laboratory but as the first caverns were being carved from the rock, the first still was set up in the plain squared room. The tradition had continued and it seemed only proper and right that they turn the room into a pub, tables had been added and a small stage and dance floor. They’d added a kitchen and made it a public room, for now it worked well as a dinning hall as well as a recreation one. It was where everyone gravitated to on off hours and had seen far more than it’s share of gossip and scandal. The door pushed open easily and music flooded out, wild violin, thumping drums, guitar, harmonica and it all blended in a mad jig. The music mixed so well with the laughter and voices that the human sounds of merriment might as well have been another instrument. Those nearest the door called out when they saw them, cheering the new arrivals. Daniel popped up and waved at them from where he held a table near the front. A good forty or more folk danced, drank and ate and more were arriving all the time. “Narin!” Daniel called out with obvious delight. “I thought Meg was teasing me when she said you’d been pried from your console!” “Jake locked me out.” “Bastard!” Daniel laughed, his white teeth shining brightly in his dark face. The musicians ended their jig and called out to Jake. They waved him up to the small raised stage and it wasn’t until the crowd took up the cry that he relented and stepped uneasily up beside the musicians. He motioned for silence but it took several minutes for the crowd to quiet to allow his voice to be heard. “Today is Mercy Shillelagh’s birthday, most of you here are born and bred on the cool hills of Avalon and need no explaining why we love her so. Those unlucky folks here to not be from Avalon, most of you know us well enough to know that there isn’t a soul here who wouldn’t be dead if not for her. It was her immunity that allowed us to find the vaccine to the virus the Fleet dropped on us so it’s natural that everyone would consider her part of their own kin. “I call her cousin but it should be sister, my brother was her best friend. In the end, Colin gave his life to save hers and in so doing saved us all. Our people struggled hard to colonize Avalon

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and everyone here knows someone who died to defend our home. They should be remembered tonight as much as Mercy is celebrated.” Mugs were raised and cheers were offered. “One more thing before I go, gossip here is the fastest form of communication so before word spreads, we’ve company tonight. It’s a Fleet ship and they’re escorting a group of Olesckians, I expect each of you to make it your personal duty to see no trouble or harm come to either.” There was some grumbling and he waved it aside. “I’m serious about this. The Captain of his vessel is the Butcher’s son.” There came a roaring shout of protest and angry words spilled around. Jake waved his arms and shouted. “Shut up! So help me if I hear even a whisper that any of you started or added to any trouble with any of his crew you’ll be off this station in a heartbeat. In a ship if lucky but out the nearest airlock if you really piss me off. I’m not happy about this either but let’s get his ship running and out of our sky. Do you hear?” There was muted acceptance. “Now, someone get me a drink, I’m far too sober.” That brought cheerful agreement and a mug of cider was pressed into his hands. They ate together when Jess arrived and Ryan swept off the dance floor to join them. Only Meg was missing and Daniel watched the door for her, he was sweet on her and they all knew it, everyone did but Meg. “Come on Narin, dance with me!” Jess begged and tugged at the pale man’s arm. “No, no I couldn’t.” He turned inward and begged off. “Give it try!” Jake was acutely aware of the man’s shyness so he brought the flat of his hand to smack along her bottom. “Shove off wench, get up on the stage with your penny whistle.” She screeched at the smack. “Why for? Will you sing?” There was a challenge to her tone. “Jake, he’s been gone for years, it’s time to let it go.” “I don’t know, it’s too soon.” “Jake’s going to sing!” Jess called out and snatched the penny whistle in it’s soft fabric bag off the table. People around heard and took up the cry, their faces reflecting the serious moment, looking hopeful for such a major sign of healing. Jess bent quickly and placed a kiss on his check. “Gotta sing now boss.” “That was a dirty trick.” He muttered to her but stood up when she tugged on his arm. The group on the stage, a fluid alternating mix of people and instruments, welcomed him and an empty stool was pulled up to make room for him. “How about ‘The Parting Glass?’” “No, too sad!” Faces were turned up to watch him and the mournful song of farewell was all he could really hear in his mind’s ear. He forced an apologetic smile. “I’m a little out of practice at this.” The group shouted back words of encouragement and cheer. “How about ‘I’ll Tell Ma?’” He sang that one a lot in his office. The musicians agreed and the drums quickly picked up the beat and John on his harmonica wove the melody around Jess’s penny whistle. Mandolin, guitar and violin soon wove around in harmony and he settled on the stool and felt like he might be ill. The music danced cheerfully and set his heart to beating like a frightened rabbit. His voice was a touch too quite at first for the rowdy music. By the time he got to the line; out she comes as white as snow with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes. Old Johnny Murphy says she’ll die if she doesn’t get the fellow with the roving eye; he was feeling less sick and more

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of the thrilled alive sense he used to get. It wasn’t Colin harmonizing with him but the voices around him supported him and he almost could hear his brother again. At the end the musicians swept right into ‘Leaving of Liverpool’ and Jake shook his head no but the group rose up such a protest that he retook his stool. Instead of being bound for California he changed the lyrics to Station 843, their designation on the charts and he changed Liverpool to Avalon. It made the group laugh and cheer and Jake blushed red from the attention. The song was one of farewell and leaving home but so up beat that there was little room in it for remorse or sadness, that bittersweet touch was added by his own voice. At the end of that one they tried to wrangle him into a third but he begged off, his voice sore already from so long going unused and as the musicians tried to tempt him with ‘All For Me Grog’ he waved them off and slipped off the stage. “Good for him.” Daniel nodded and than leaned in toward Narin. “That’s the first time he’s sung publicly since his brother was killed.” Narin nodded and understood the significance. Jake tried to return to their table but was swept up in the dancing. Other people came and went on the stage and other songs were sung, with much cheering and joining in from the crowds and finally the net screens clicked on and great shushing hissing sounds passed around the crowd. People scrambled for their seats and laughed like small children. Jake dropped breathlessly back into his chair. “Where’s Meg?” He whispered to their table. Daniel shrugged. “Want me to go get her?” “Naw, she’s a big girl, she knows how to set an alarm. They’ll rebroadcast the show, no point in you missing it too.” The Inside Lives logo whipped across the screens and the tones of it’s opening theme echoed across the room. People clapped and others shushed them. A deep male voice came over the speakers. “Inside Lives, the only show to take you inside the day to day life of the lives that interest you most now presents for the first time ever, an all access live broadcast following the lives of two of the most notorious members of the Psi Guard, Mercy Shillelagh and her elusive apprentice Collinfernor des Feric Everkton. Yesterday on Inside Lives:” The voice and logo gave way to a recap of yesterday’s live broadcast, showing Tina Stemple in her overly fussy clothes and make up looking bewildered in her first few hours with the two Psi’s. “Listen,” Jake whispered to Ryan, “you tell me when the ship tells her it’s connected the call, doesn’t the voice sound familiar?” The table waited and the clip on the screen did include the ship alerting to a connected call from the head of the Psi Guard. Ryan shrugged. “So, it has a bit of an Avalon accent? That’s not strange given where she’s from.” Jake shook his head. “It’s more than that, I just don’t know what.” “Shut up!” Jess complained and sighed. The men fell silent as the screen switched to new footage. Tina Stemple, now making an effort to look more efficient and common place, sat with her hair in a simple style and little make up and she wore a simple pant and blouse combination. “Collinfernor Everkton, one of the fabled Tor’sal’dor of Dornsonton is the only member of his species to have any contact off his home world for the last two hundred years. He came to the Concord only a little over a year ago and

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established a trade treaty between the Concord and his home but rather than return he elected to join the Psi Guard and since his rating was an extraordinary 91, the only person capable of apprenticing him was Mercy Shillelagh. Mercy’s own rating is a stunning 94 and she accepted the Collinfernor only after much debate and discussion. “Their new relationship would be tested by fire, as their first assignment together was a trap. Pirates had laid a scheme to kidnap and murder Mercy and it was the Collinfernor that single handedly rescued her from their plot, in spite of severe injuries to his own person. Both have been incredibly tight lipped since that attack over just what happened but the news of the near fatal kidnapping has only spurned the publics longing to know more about this odd pair and particularly about the Tor’sal’dorn himself.” The camera pulled back as Tina herself stood. The view expanded to show the darkened view ports and the rather cozy living space around her. “For the first time we’ve been invited inside their world, live and with all access. I’m standing in the main living space of the AFV Finnigan, just down the central hallway is a kitchen and dinning area and off to either side of the ship are suites of room so richly luxurious I have a difficult time remembering I’m out in space. “We’ve spent the last thirty six hours living as a member of the crew. Much of the time is spent just like this, in the solitude that only the vast distances between ports in space can offer. It’s a time to rest and recover and to prepare for the next assignment, which we’ve been told will be unusually taxing this time. For me, it’s been a time to observe the fascinating pair. I’ve found Mercy to be surprisingly considerate and gentle and the Tor’sal’dorn soft spoken and almost magnetically confident. “In just a few short moments, you’ll join me in an unprecedented opportunity to sit down and discuss, one on one, all manner of issues and ideas with the mysterious Collenfernor so stay with us now and for the next week and a half because you’ll only see it here on Inside Lives.” The camera cut away to pre recorded footage, a mix of events from the last day and side reports from Tina about the day to day life about the ship. Commercials ran on a constant ticker at the bottom of the screen until at last the image flicked back to Tina, this time she sat in a dimly lit room where fabric draped along the walls in rich colors. “Welcome back to the live broadcast, I’m Tina Stemple and this is Inside Lives. We’re inside the Collenfernor’s private suite aboard the AFV Finnaigan. Thank you for sitting down with us, Disdie.” The camera angle changed and showed the Tor’sal’dorn clearly. He sat in loose clothes, the fabric rich in color and material. His light brown hair was loose and brushed out but it had no shine or gloss to it. His skin was an olive dusky shade and it matched his dark eyes well, only there was no visible difference between his iris and pupil, it was one black spot in the center of his eye and it made it difficult to look away from him. When the light caught those black depths at the right angle, the truth could be seen. The iris wasn’t black but such a dark shade of red that the camera picked it up as one uniform color. He smiled slightly and inclined his head. “Thank of you giving me this opportunity, Ms. Stemple.” His voice was smooth and rich. “Just so everyone at home understands, on your world you are what we’d call a king or emperor and I’m correct in addressing you as Disdie?” “Yes, it’s the same as saying Your Grace or similar but you are not a citizen of Dornsonton and so do not have to use the term.” Tina smiled prettily. “You’re very gracious Disdie, I’d like to ask, if I may, why someone with such a high rank would willingly chose both exile and apprenticeship?” “My people sent me to form a treaty, and I did, but they believed it would take decades not

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months of your time to reach a consensus. The arrangements I’ve in place are still in place, my people are well tended to and I won’t be missed for several more years. Frankly, the opportunity to learn your people’s means of controlling and using your psychic skills was one too generous to deny. My people use our gifts differently, it’s fascinating to learn a whole new system, and quite challenging too I might add.” The Tor’sal’dorn’s voice was hypnotic and he spoke with careful measure, weighing each word carefully. “My kind are solitary by nature, even on our own world. While it may appear I am in exile without another of my kind, in truth, it’s a normal state for us. Some of my people retreat for centuries into meditations and prayer without ever laying eyes on another of our kind. We handle solitude well.” He smiled warmly. Tina didn’t return the smile, her face grew slightly more predatory. “Your lifespan’s are tremendous, in fact you fought in the war between the Concord and your people almost two centuries ago. A conflict that was started over Tor’sal’dorn treatment of the weaker and lesser native species of your world, the Felnor, isn’t it so?” Some of the distant pleasant mask of the man broke. “Yes, it’s true I fought in that conflict but there is nothing weak or lesser about the Felnor.” “It’s true that their species is subjected by your own.” “No, we live in a symbiotic relationship.” “Your kind feed on the lifeblood of the Felnor and other mortal species including humans, but it’s difficult to see what they receive from the relationship.” “That’s because you’re not Felnor.” “But Disdie, can you comprehend how disturbing the concept of a sepcies that requires the blood of living beings to survive is?” “Only if you will comprehend how disturbing it is to my kind the idea that you humans consume the flesh of animals. Nothing is killed to support my needs, there is senseless slaughter to fulfill your own.” His tone was growing harsher but his eyes stayed steady. “But your people aren’t pacifists, during the conflict you were taken captive for a time. Somehow you and several others of your people managed to escape and the entire crew of the research base you were held in were found horridly slaughtered. There’s been some speculation over the years that your high level of psychic skills allowed that escape to take place, would you care to comment on that?” Everkton lowered his eyes for a moment, when he raised them their dark depths were haunted and his voice was weak and unsteady. “It was war, things were done on both sides. I would prefer not to speak of it.” Only Tina Stemple didn’t leave it there, over the the next hour and a half she poked and prodded at every raw nerve and emotional soft spot she could find in the man. She displayed images of his time in captivity, images of his parents and brother and it was clear from the horrified shocked expression the man wore that he’d had no advance notice of either and found both to be an awful invasion of his privacy. She implied he drank the blood of cult like devotees among the colonies and cities of the Concord and insinuated that he’d be chewing on Mercy’s neck next. Without kindness she forced him to speak of the war and when he finally threatened to stop the live interview if she wouldn’t leave it alone she tried to make him sound like a raving madman or a wild animal who had lost control. When the interview finally ended it was almost with a sense of relief that the net broadcast switched off. The room sat in nauseated unease, too sympathetic to the survivors of any conflict to be unmoved by the Tor’sal’dorn’s obvious and open pain. Whispers started and it had the hushed tone of a funeral.

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“Oh that poor man.” Jess finally said and broke the silence of the table. Ryan just shook his head. “I always said that Tina Stemple was a cold bitch but I almost feel sorry for her.” “How so?” “Jess, if Mercy’s even the slightest bit attached to that Tor’sal’dorn and she has to be to be mentoring him, when she finds out how badly Tina shredded him.” He shook his head and let his voice die off. “I wouldn’t want to be at the receiving end of her anger.” Jess just sighed and shook her head. “Maybe but I tell you what, I’m going to be contacting Inside Lives and letting them known just what I think about that woman’s interview. If something isn’t done to make amends to that poor man I swear, after this series on Mercy, I’ll never watch that show again!” The music started up again but sadder, more mournful as people began milling around and talking in small groups, all looking to the blank screens and shaking their heads. The dancing now was slower, closer and Narin stood. Jake moved and blocked him by the door. “Leaving so soon?” Narin nodded. “It’s been a long day.” “Narin,” “I’m fine.” In spite of the stress he placed on the words it was a lie and both men knew it. “Really, I’m fine.” Jake nodded and let the alien man leave, reminding himself that everyone had a right to privacy, even those that had retreated too far into it. He hated knowing that one of his people, for he saw all the folks on the station as his but his programmers even more so, had been silently suffering and he’d never seen it. It reminded him too bitterly of Colin and how he’d failed him. With a shake of his head Jake turned back to the solemn air of the room, the mournful music and the plentiful home brewed liquor.

It was hours later that the music, playing an extended and sad version of the Parting Glass that Jake could stomach neither another drink nor any more of the collective melancholy. He rose quietly and unnoticed, left the Dive. The lights in the hallway were dimmed and he nearly walked into Doctor Taylor before he saw him. “Ben?” The man seemed as distracted as he was. “Jake, I’m glad I found you so easily. Cardel’soli Flick has requested to see the gardens tonight, they require mediation and someone suggested there as a good place to gather. He wants to see it before tomorrow morning.” “Does it have to be now? I’m a touch drunk.” “They were pretty insistent on it, Mabel told them they’d have to wait until after the celebration.” The Doctor’s hair was wet and his clothes were fresh and un-rumpled. “Just getting to the party, Ben?” “Yeah, I was going over those files on the Olesckians.”

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“Well, you missed most of it, it’s like a wake in there now. Learn anything about Narin from it?” Ben scratched at his nose. “I might have but I’m not sure yet. You’re tired, another day or so won’t matter. Go, show this fellow the gardens and get some sleep, doctor’s orders.” Jake smiled thinly. “Yes, sir.” The sight of the pair of armed Fleet guards outside of the door to the suite Jess had placed the Olesckian party in left Jake unhappy and unnerved. He doubted there would ever be a time when the sight a Fleet uniform didn’t make him ill and he watched them distrustfully until the door opened in front of him. “Ah, Doctor Ellia, thank you for indulging my whims. Please, guide me to your gardens, I’ve heard they are quite spectacular for a station this size.” Flick said and stepped into the hallway, the door pulled shut behind him and blocking out any view inside. “I’m happy to serve, please this way.” He hoped he didn’t smell too badly of beer and cider. As they moved down the hallway one of the guards broke off and followed them at a discreet distance. “I’m sorry, Mr. Cardel’soli, I’m afraid I know nothing about your party and even less about your people. I don’t know just what a cultural treasure does and why it would need armed guards, Narin is rather tight lipped when it comes to questions of his people so we’re a touch in the dark here.” Flick ignored all mention of his brother and nodded his head, his wide eyes innocent and open. “I am a keeper of my people’s lore, what you might call a bard or shaman. There are few of us, all of old and strong lines and down each line unbroken the lore and knowledge is passed. Because I am the last of my line’s keepers and I have yet to have children old enough to earn the title of lorekeeper, my safety is of a high priority. Not because I am special but because the knowledge I carry is.” “There’s something similar among my people as well. Why than would you travel off world?” “It’s part of a cultural arts exchange, many of the civilized worlds of the Concord and it’s treaty neighbors are taking part. We Olesckians may be fond of our homes but the opportunity to share the beauty of our culture was worth the risk, as by my volunteering it will also bring artists and lore keepers of other worlds and cultures to visit my people. It’s good for everyone.” Flick smiled warmly but his face grew serious. “Doctor, we were told by Captain Gore that the flaw in your Network drive had been repaired but tonight, on that net broadcast, it suggested otherwise. Are we in danger?” “Travel always has it’s dangers but what you were told is right, the Network drive has been repaired. When the technology was originally discovered we were so excited about being able to travel such vast distances so easily that it wasn’t properly tested. The drive wasn’t properly shielded.” Flick raised his almost invisible eyebrows and nodded. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, technology holds little interest to my people.” “Okay, well, the Network drive kind of folds dimensional space and without it being shielded it was making little tears in that space.” He tried to demonstrate the effect with his hands but the effect fell flat and he felt stupid. “That doesn’t sound good.” “In and of itself it’s not bad, the tears repair rather quickly on their own.”

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“They heal?” He’d never thought of it that way before but he nodded. “Yeah, they do. Anyway, the early days of intersystem travel saw a lot of ships turning up with the crews dead. Slaughtered on board and it was assumed that traveling such vast distances had effected the sanity of the crew. The logs all mentioned being attacked and demons, monsters, bogeymen and it just made everyone agree the crew had gone mad. Than one of the logs had visual records of the demons that were attacking them. “It took a little while to figure out that there are beings on the other side of those rips, beings with no physical form, they take whatever shape our minds offer them. For years we assumed they fed on death but once the problem was figured out it was pretty easy for people who can manipulate energies.” “What you call Psis?” “Yes, we call them that. Some psis can effect the energy patterns of these rips and the beings from the other side. They were able to drive off the demons and seal the rips, make it safe. Which gave the engineers time to figure out how to make the Network Drives shielded and make it permanently safe.” “Than why do you have a Psi Guard on active duty? Are we still in danger?” “Well, no one guessed that these beings would miss feeding on us. About a decade ago they found ways to create openings or rips from their side onto ours. Demon attacks were showing up on ships, stations, cities, colonies with no reason for it. It was my cousin Mercy that came up with the idea of having a central office for dealing with the problem. People were educated and now at the first signs of trouble, before things get out of hand, a report is sent to the Psi Guard home office, it’s processed and a Psi with enough raw strength and skill is dispatched to deal with it. Often times they’re catching it early enough that only a few people are killed rather than dozens or more. Make any sense? We can’t stop them but we can push them back and patch the holes.” “So we are in danger?” Jake shrugged. “The odds are pretty low, you’re more likely to have life support fail or to have a hull breach before demons eat you. You’re safer here than on that Fleet ship.” “Stations are safer?” “No but this one is. Mercy is from Avalon, my home world and the home world of about half the people here. We’ve more Psi’s per capita than any colony or world of humans. I’ve a ranking of twenty one, most of our people have some empathic skills to one level or another. The demons seem unwilling to push into areas with high psychic activity, we’ve never had a single death on our world or a lost ship. Some species are naturally immune, Mercy’s apprentice, the Tor’sal’dorn, all of his people are psis, strong ones too. The secondary species of his world, the Felnor, not one of them has a touch of skill but yet there’s not been a single report of an attack there so it’s either the Tor’sal’dorn presence or they just don’t interest the Demons.” He smiled comfortingly as they reached the doors to the garden. “I wouldn’t worry about it, you’re as safe as you can be.” “Safer, if what you say is true. My people are natural telepaths with one another. If these monsters fear those with psychic skills and avoid them, we should have no difficulties.” “I didn’t know that about your people.” He toggled the door open and it slid out of the way. It was a seal lock door, close to being an air lock and of much stronger substance than most of the other doors. Fresh air whooshed out at them, moist and smelling of green growing things. “It’s in it’s night cycle but there’s enough light to see by.”

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Flick walked into the wide, open cavern and stopped inside the door. “Oh my Captain this is more than I expected.” Jake smiled in delight. “It was supposed to have been an observatory but before we could afford the equipment we started a vegetable garden, and well it sort of grew. It’s almost a full ten acres all of which is enclosed in the dome, it lights up to simulate a sky during the day and dims and clears for a view of the stars at night. It’s a double, self sealing poly-glass so it’s as safe as a big, clear dome can get. We’ve pathways winding in and out but only the paths with the little lights lead to finished areas. We’ve a good three acres still mostly bare rock but we’re working on it.” He moved them inside and Flick followed in wide eyed delight. “The grass is all different species, the biology department is testing a few new strains and those areas are marked, if it says don’t go on the grass, please try to avoid it. This pasture is a primary playground but it’s normally got plenty of space in the mornings, your group is welcome to use it. Be warned though, it’s within earshot of the veggies and some of my people take their carrots very seriously. We’re having a fungus problem on some of the veggies and it’s drawn forth much debate and swearing.” He laughed and waved them toward one of the pathways. “Here, let me show you most of my people’s favorite meditation spot.” “Will your people starve if the fungus kills the crops?” The Olesckian was so serious that Jake laughed again. “Oh, no, none of this is vital. We circulate out the fresh air to keep the station air from feeling canned and dry. We’ve planted berry bushes and dwarf fruit trees and the vegetables, herbs and the like but that’s mostly just vanity. Biology has a hydroponics lab that provides most of our fresh food, culturally we just like the idea that we can dig up the soil and plant something, grow it and survive on it.” “As do mine, these trees, some are massive. I’ve never seen their like on a station.” “Oak, maple, pine, elder, willow, anything anyone’s missed from home. We’ve streams that run throughout the garden and smart sensor sprinkler systems. We just put in a koi, fish, last year, some of the folks are talking about a trout pond big enough to swim and fish in. We’re also working on putting sprinklers on the dome so that we can simulate rain.” He beamed with pride at that, it would be amazing to have real rain on a station. “This is amazing.” Flick trailed his fingers along a feely fern and the the plant caressed him back. “How is it word of this place hasn’t spread?” “Every station has a garden.” “Yes an enclosed lawn with bad artificial lighting and maybe a few shrubs with rigid walk ways and paths not this, this art.” He stopped to examine the moss between the paving stones. “And insect life as well? How are you able to do this?” “We’re a small station, we’ve less than eighty permanent people. There’s not a soul here that doesn’t love this garden, eighty hands helping to maintain it, respecting it, putting their skills and knowledge into it. I was against the idea of adding the bugs but the honey has been worth it and the butterflies. Trust me, the only way we can do it is because everyone cares about it and tends it. The monetary cost is impressive but we’ve put off other luxuries to have this.” He loved this place, it was like being planet side. “I can’t believe word of this hasn’t spread.” “We’re a little out of the way for tourists. We’re almost there.” The path wound around and it gave an impression of walking miles from anyone, out in the wilds. Small lights discreetly glowed in soft reddish tones to prevent the eyes from loosing their night vision but with enough glow to

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make movement safe. “Here we are, the mediation grotto.” Jake stepped to the side and let Flick move forward into the created clearing. The appearance was of a natural forest glen that had sat in place for centuries, water tumbled from a rise of rocks and the ledge above and fell in smooth streams down onto brass cups suspended on long thin flexible rods. As the water filled them they bent and tipped over and swung back to tap musically into other cups. The amounts of water in each cup changed the tone and pitch, the water falling from above was perfectly programmed to only allow so much at a time to scatter into the cups and the result was a light, musical chiming that filled the corner. The water pooled and streamed off in a brook that was just slightly wider than a normal person was tall, a fallen log lay across it with a carved footpath on it. “There’s three sections for small groups, one here beside the water, one across the stream down that path and screened by greenery and one on the ledge above the fall. There’s individual spots all along here, a few up above the falls, several across the stream, the rock wall has a spot behind the water for a person, maybe two to rest. Downstream a little the stream splits. The smaller waterway leads to a little pond and there’s a clear floating disc. You can actually settle in on it and float like a lily pad, the effect is quite impressive. There’s day and night blooming flowers, fragrant and ornamental both. There’s a box over here with blankets and cushions, you’re welcome to use them so long as they get returned to the box for the next person. Each area has it’s own computer access point so you can run music files to head phones and such but they’re very well hidden so you’ll have to hunt around a little.” Flick moved forward and studied the falling water and the gentle chiming of the bells. “I was wrong, this is art.” “It was just finished a few months ago. Narin did it, he planned it from start to finish, picked the plants, timed the waterfall. Ryan helped him with the back flow system for the pond and a couple of us helped him put in the wood platform at the top of the falls and in the cove behind it but otherwise this is his creation. It took him almost two years and he says it’s finished except it needs a mating pair of flickerflan flanflickans or something like that.” “Flanvlicksans, small birds.” “Yeah, he described them and they sound like our hummingbirds. So now I get a dozen requests a week for a pair of hummingbirds. Maybe next year, I don’t think it’s ready yet though the biology team says it could handle it.” Jake moved closer to where the Olesckian stooped to study one of the night flowers. “Narin’s really proud of this place, he mediates here every morning, early, before he comes on shift.” Flick stood and the awed wonder in his open face fled. “Thank you Doctor but I think the glade further out will more than serve our needs.” Without waiting he turned and began back down the path. Jake hurried to catch up to the man’s long legged stride. “I had a brother once.” He called out as he drew close to the man at the head of the trail. “Except mine’s really gone, I can’t ever speak to him, I can’t ever tell him all that I should have while he was still alive.” Flick stopped and looked down from his greater height at the human. “I believe you mean well, Doctor, but contrary to what you may think, my brother died five years ago.” His eyes raised and glanced down the path he’d just come from, seeing again the grotto at the end. “If he lingers as a specter among your people it doesn’t change the fact that he is dead, and it’s only a short while more before the specter is laid to rest as well. So please, you are not Olesckian, respect our ways and leave this alone. Good night, Doctor Ellia.” The guard followed the pale man out and Jake sighed. He had no doubt that there would still be people and drink in the Dive and he wanted both badly but suddenly his own exhaustion was

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almost crushing. He stood in the still night for a long moment before trudging down the decks to his own small quarters and his narrow and very cold bed.

Next Section Home Short's Index

Heroes & Ghosts: Outpost Section Two

His alarm went off what felt like a moment after he laid down. Jake grumbled and pulled his covers up over his head but the alarm continued to beep for him. It’s insistent annoyance woke him enough to hear it wasn’t his alarm but the intercom paging him. He grumbled for it to answer and pulled the covers off his head. “What?” He asked the darkness of his room, he pawed on the clock and groaned. “Jake, I think you need to get down here.” “Mabel?” “Yeah, it’s me. You need to wake up and come down to your office.” “Mabel, it’s only six, I don’t have to be in until nine.” He knew he was whining but he didn’t do mornings well after a night of drinking. “Jake, just get up, pour some coffee down your throat and get down here. There’s been an accident and if you don’t wake up the Fleet is going to download your research.” It was the note of worry held in check that woke him up as much as the threat to his work. The combination was like ice water in his face, he sat up and fumbled for the lights. “I’ll be there in a moment.” She severed the connection without saying good bye which wasn’t like her. Jake moved to his computer terminal and initiated a lock out program on his office systems. The only people shown as logged in were Meg and Narin which wasn’t odd, the lock out would keep them on but only in the programs they were currently running. It would take his entire team of programmers days to hack around the lock out, there was no way the Fleet was getting one iota of his code. His room was small but he always stored a few cartons of coffee, he pulled the tab on one of them as he stumbled into the vibe shower. The coffee was hot by the time he was done shaving off the night’s stubble and the shower was done cleaning him. The carton had heated the coffee to a painful degree and he burned his tongue in his haste to dress and down the black brew. There were Fleet guards around his office doors and he had to scan his thumbprint to be allowed past. That had him almost shouting angry and he pushed his way into the central room to find

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more guards. Mabel hovered near the console and Captain Gore stood in hushed debate with her. Narin sat in his office, visor on and gloved hands moving in subtle motions but guards blocked his view of Meg’s office. “Get away from my console!” Jake barked and would have physically removed Gore from his offices if the man hadn’t moved. “What’s going on here?” “Jake,” Mabel tried to speak. “Doctor we need access to your computer systems.” “Jake,” She tried again. “Like hell you do.” “Jake!” “What?” He really saw her for the first time, her eyes were red rimmed and her face was twisted up in grief. He softened his tone. “What’s happened?” Mabel took one of Jake’s hands in her own. “Someone’s killed Meg.” “What?” “Someone’s murdered her, last night.” She brushed Gore aside and for the first time it gave Jake a clear view of Meg’s office. She was crumbled across her desk, her clothes and body torn and shredded. Her curls had sprung out and were tipped in glossy red blood. Blood pooled on her desk and her visor lay broken on the floor splattered in blood but the floor and walls were noticeably clean except for the one far corner which looked like a child had spilled paint everywhere. “Lady bless. What happened?” He found he couldn’t look away from her blue eyes, eyes that now watched in dry blankness. “Who found her?” “Jake, you should sit down.” Mabel tugged at his arm. He shook her off. “I’m fine, she’s not the first person I’ve loved I’ve seen murdered.” The look he gave Gore was dark and painful to bare. “Who found her?” “Narin did, when he came in this morning. If he hadn’t been in so soon the cleaning bots would have had the whole room scrubbed up. As it is most of the evidence has been purged. He called me as was protocol and than asked if he could go to work. We don’t know what happened, we’ve only been here a moment or two before I called you. Ben hasn’t even gotten here yet.” Jake sat down heavily. “Now, will you unlock the system?” The anger was gone now and Jake just wanted to be left alone, he sat silent and stared back at Meg’s empty eyes and her too clean office and regretted the coffee, it churned unhappily in his stomach. “Out of the way, Fleet Pigs!” Ryan grumbled and shoved his way into the room. “Jake what’s with the narns?” Before anyone could answer him he saw Meg and cursed vividly. “What happened?” “Easy Ryan, we’ll figure it out.” Jake managed to say softly.

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“We’d be able to figure it out sooner if you’d unlock the computer system, Doctor.” Gore prodded. “We need to get on with our investigation.” Ryan pushed his way to the central console. “You’ll not touch that computer while I live.” He hissed in anger. “What right have you to conduct anything here? This is Avalon space, she was of Avalon, personally from where I stand you look like suspect number one, trying to finish off what your daddy started!” “My authority comes from the power of the Concord, from the fact that I’m responsible for the lives of several highly valuable ambassadors and from the fact that we of the Fleet are likely the only people on this rock capable of properly conducting a murder investigation!” “We were safe until you got here, take your ambassadors and leave our worthless little rock! Go, before more of our people end up butchered!” Jake stood up between them. “Shut up! Both of you! Whether you like it or not, Captain, this space and this station belong to Avalon and the last time I checked we won the war. So you have no authority here, none, you are guests only in the thinnest sense. What Ryan says makes sense and because you and your people are suspect you won’t be going anywhere until we know exactly what happened. We may be a backwater station but we are not ignorant nor stupid. Your people will assist and aid mine in any way they can and if I so much as think as one of them is dragging their feet I’ll lock the lot of you, including your grand ambassadors, up in our rather cold brig until a tribune from Avalon can arrive. Do we understand one another?” “Doctor, we have a schedule to maintain. Now, I have a few days lee way but I must deliver the Olesckian party to their next performance on time. This is just how it has to be.” “Sorry to break it to you Captain, you’re on Avalon time now. So I suggest you do everything you can to make this go faster. That is, unless you’ve something to hide because I’d really like a chance to lock you up.” Gore forced a small smile. “Whatever the Fleet can do to help.” “I’m going to want a list of your crew’s movements for the last day, I want the guard removed from the door and if some of your people could stay around and help Dr. Taylor with anything he needs, we’d be grateful.” He softened his tone. “We can do that.” Gore nodded and turned to one of the other perfectly uniformed officers. Jake took Ryan by his arm and led him to his office, he shut the walls behind them. “Jake? We don’t have a brig, do we?” “He doesn’t know that.” “We don’t even have side arms here, or riffles do we?” “He doesn’t know that either.” “Okay, so what are we supposed to do? Hold them in the Dive and threaten them with forks?” “Ryan, someone on this station has a weapon and they’ve used it already. Gods, poor Meg, we should have checked on her.” “There was no way of knowing. What can I do?” “See to it that their ship can’t leave, even if they want to.”

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Ryan looked around and glanced out at all the armed uniforms. The ship had a crew of thirty but those thirty were armed and that made them dangerous. “How?” “I don’t care, crash their computer, break their engine, infest them with rats, walk out there and poke a hole in their hull, I don’t care, just see it gets done. You’re the man that programmed the cleaning bots to shove that stinky cheese into my air vent and made my rooms uninhabitable for two weeks, you know every dirty trick in the book, don’t be growing a conscious on me now.” Ryan nodded and turned to leave, he stopped and glanced back. “You don’t think one of us could have done this? Do you?” “I pray not but well,” he couldn’t finish the thought. “I know.” Ryan looked from Jake to Narin’s office where the man worked as unaffected by the death of his co-worker as any of the people in a Fleet uniform. “That ship won’t leave, I promise.” “Good man.” With Ryan gone Jake turned his focus to the computer system, he kept the other access points locked out and checked. Narin was working on the Vendi project but it was eating a lot of memory, a lot more than normal. Meg’s system was still active but it was non responsive. He tried the backdoor into the system and a cartoon version of Meg walked across his vision and waggled a finger at him. “Uh oh! I caught you peeking. Try again sport, this system is for my eyes only!” Off the cartoon walked on cartoon high heels in a very short skirt. He tried a few other ways into her system and found them either unresponsive, dead or locked out. After one last try that ended with the same stunning lack of success, he pulled off his visor and gloves. Jess stood in the center of the main room, tears streaking her face and she held Daniel’s shoulders. He was watching her and looking to Meg’s office, the clear walls opaque for the first time since that feature had been added. Jake rubbed at the back of his neck and drew up his strength to join them. The walls around him opened in time for him to over hear the last of their conversation. “He just went back to work?” Daniel nearly snarled out, torn in his pain and grief and looking for any outlet. “Danny, Dan no it’s not like that, you know he’s not like us.” Jess tried to hold on to him but he shook her off. “Cold, emotionless freak!” Before anyone could stop him Daniel had slapped the over ride to Narin’s office and the walls parted but he didn’t wait for the pale man to acknowledge him. “Get up! Get up freak, she’s dead, don’t you just sit there working with your own code, get up!” He’d crossed behind Narin’s desk as Jake was hurrying in to follow him but he wasn’t fast enough to stop Daniel from pulling back and hitting Narin. The Olesckian’s head snapped back and his visor cracked forcefully against his face. Daniel pulled him from the chair and dragged him against a wall. Thick, soupy looking blood began oozing in a stream from under the visor, looking to Jake more like strawberry jam than blood. Daniel shook him again. “She’s dead, show some respect!” Narin’s head cracked limply against the wall as Jake wrapped his arms around Daniel and pried him back. For the first time he heard Jess screaming for Daniel to stop and she pushed past them both as the Olesckian crumbled boneless to the floor.

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Daniel bucked and fought but Jake slowly dragged the other man out. He was screaming curses choked with grief laden sobs and with every step away the man’s grief overtook his anger. “What’s going on here?” Mabel asked rushing into the offices. “Just a little outburst.” Jake shook Daniel and shoved him toward his office. “Get Ben over there, Narin’s hurt.” He dropped Daniel into his chair as the walls closed behind him. “You’re not helping her any.” He turned grief stricken and haunted eyes up to Jake. “How can you be so unfeeling? She’s dead!” “I’m not unfeeling but coming apart now isn’t going to help her any.” Daniel wasn’t from Avalon, he hadn’t buried most of his loved ones and he couldn’t understand the coldness over death and loss so many of the survivors showed was merely a means of coping. “Narin isn’t to blame, neither are you, I’m going to need your help finding who is. You were helping her with this side project of hers?” Daniel ran a hand over his face and shook his had. “Only a little, it was something with a broadcast system. She didn’t want to say much, didn’t want to spoil the surprise. I was supposed to help her tonight.” “If you want to help her now, get me into her system. She’s got it locked down.” “Totally?” “Yeah.” “She knew she was in danger, she wasn’t surprised than. The only way she’d have done a total lock down is if she knew something bad was going to happen. Oh God, oh Meg!” He moaned in grief. “I never told her, I,” “Dan, can you get me into her system? I don’t have the time to give it.” He nodded and swallowed hard. “Yeah, I can get you in.” “Start on it and keep what you’re up to quiet, just to be safe.” “I will, we’ll get them.” Jake patted his shoulder and left his office, the walls sliding shut again behind him. He stopped in passing at the central console and unlocked Daniel’s workstation before he moved to Narin’s office. Only the Olesckian wasn’t there but Jess knelt on the floor, tears flowing freely and she cradled Narin’s visor, his thick blood coating her hands. “Jess, don’t you fall apart on me.” She sniffed loudly and rubbed at her eyes. “Ben took Narin to the med lab, he was out cold and the bleeding wouldn’t stop. It was just a small cut, Jake, but it just kept bleeding. He’s sick, isn’t he?” He knelt down beside her and gathered up the discarded access gloves. “Yeah, he is.” “Will he be okay?” He wanted to lie to her but couldn’t. “Ben thinks he might be dieing.”

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She sobbed suddenly and folded over her knees. “Jake, he wasn’t, I mean,” but her sobs kept breaking off her words. Finally, she gave up and pressed Narin’s visor at him. “Look.” He pulled it on and the data, frozen in place from the moment Daniel had keyed open his outer door, glared into his eyes. The Vendi probe code occupied a side corner, the data so complex as to almost be nauseating and it took Jake a moment to see that the Olesckian had been stacking the code, compressing it to show twice as much at the same time. It was a stunning way to code but not an easy task and he only tackled it after several really strong pots of coffee. It wasn’t the Vendi probe code that had so rattled Jess, the primary screen space was devoted to another task. When it’s meaning sunk in, Jake shut the system down and put a lock on it. “He wasn’t being cold, he wasn’t working, Jake. He was trying to piggy back into Meg’s system. He was trying to convince her system he was just another of her projects. He was trying to help.” She shook her head. “Give me something to do. I can’t code like this, give me something to do so I don’t lose it.” “Go take care of Narin. I need to check on some things here and than I’ll be over but he should have someone with him too.” He wiped at the tears on her face. “Can you do that?” She nodded vigorously. “I sit at sick beds very well. Someone needs to tell them back home.” “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of everything. I’ll let the community know she’s coming home.” There had been so much death that far too many people were the last of their families and far too many had virtually no family. Now, funerals, weddings, births, any family celebration had become a community one. All the survivors had become family. “Now, go and keep an eye on Narin, tell him not to worry that I’ve Daniel working on getting into her system so he just needs to get his strength back.” He got her on her feet and slowly ushered her toward the common room. “That poor man, why didn’t he tell us he was sick?” “You’d have to ask him that.” “He didn’t want us thinking any more differently than we did of him. He’s been such an outsider, the poor man.” For all her worry now at Narin, her eyes glanced to Daniel and Jake couldn’t swear the final few words she nearly whispered out weren’t for him as well. He rubbed gently at her shoulder and left her in the central room. As the walls of his office closed around him he saw Janet Sorsin, one of the med techs, slip out of Meg’s darkened office. She held her gloves in one hand and tears were in her eyes. The two women came together in mutual words of grief, sympathy and shock and drew strength from one another and the courage to continue doing what they must. He wasn’t directly included but the sight of them motivated him and Jake pulled on his visor to begin the arduous task of sorting across the personnel records. There was one hundred and fourteen people at the station, counting regular staff, the crew of the Drake Moore and the Olesckian party. A handful of them could be removed from suspicion right away because they were on duty last night. The question was, which handful of names and who among the majority had been able to do such a horrible crime. The names had given him a headache by the time Mabel called him. The crew of the Moore meant nothing to him, most of them could be scratched off the list instantly, they were clearly logged as on ship or on duty. The names from the Fleet rapidly shrank to about ten, including the guards on duty outside of the Olesckians and, surprisingly, Captain Gore himself. It was the names of the station crew that were giving him fits. It pained him to include Daniel on the list of suspects, the man’s grief was throbbingly obvious, but he was off duty and could have left at any time after the broadcast. That was how it was for most everyone, those on duty had begged off to a skeleton crew and most of the station had been free to roam about how they willed. It pointed strongly to one of them being a killer and that idea made him sick.

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Programmer visors weren’t truly made to be full system interfaces but Jake had upgraded and adapted them. They spent so many hours plugged into their work that they’d never answer incoming pages or program music or other distractions if they had to remove their work gear. So when Mabel’s page came across his visor he just froze his work and left it waiting in the background. “How’re you holding up?” He asked, the strong woman looked worn thin. “I’m hanging in there. You?” He made a non-committal grunt. “What can I do for you?” “There’s been some talk, I want to know your thoughts. Should I send in a report to the Psi Guard?” That caught him off guard. “What?” “The Psi Guard? A lot of the non-Avalon citizens are pretty freaked out, word of how violently Meg was killed is spreading and the general feel is it had to be a Demon.” “It wasn’t a Demon, that much I’m sure of.” She shook her head and looked frightened. “I’m not so sure. Remember, I’m a flat line.” It was what psis called those that didn’t have gifts because the scale they were judged on didn’t curve at all for most people. “I can’t just know that there isn’t a rift waiting to pour beasties out while I sleep. A lot of the people here don’t have even a slight gift and they’re scared.” “Mabel, you may be a flatliner but I’m not and I’m sitting a dozen yards from Meg’s office. There was no Demon.” “That’s going to scare the bejeezers out of people even more. You know that right? Things could be done if the idea that one of their neighbors is a killer gets too firmly set in their minds.” Jake sighed and nodded, knowing she couldn’t see it. When he answered calls with the visor on there was no visual for the other end. “Yeah, I understand you. I’ve met Richard Morris, he runs the Psi Guard home office. Let me put in a call to him and you can tell people we’ve spoken with them and it’s under advisement.” “Good, very good, people are scared of Demons but it’s something they can understand. One of our own slaughtering her like this, well, I don’t need to explain it to you.” “Yeah, I know. Oh, Mabel before you go, why was Captain Gore on this station last night?” He kept his voice light but if word got around that the Butcher’s son was loose on the night Meg died, the results could be bloody. “I got off shift before the broadcast and invited him to have dinner with me in my quarters. It’s a Fleet custom that the first night in port the commanding officers share a meal.” Her tone was a touch too defensive. It was none of Jake’s business who Mabel was interested in but if she was attracted to the Butcher’s son, maybe he’d thought too highly of her in the first place. “What time did he leave?” She raised an eyebrow. “A little bit after the broadcast. Really, Jake, he’s a child, I’m almost old enough to be his mother! Besides, I know what he is to your people, my loyalty is with you and yours, you know that.”

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That almost made him laugh and one worry slipped from his list. “Who you’re chasing isn’t my concern and he’d be lucky to have you. It’d have been better if he’d spent the night with you.” “Why ever for?” “Because than I could tell everyone he wasn’t to blame for this.” She was silent and serious for a long moment. “I’ll see to it Gore stays on his ship and that the only ones of our people over there are ones that can keep a cool head.” “Thank you, Mabel.”

“You ate lunch, right?” Jake just shook his head at Ben and pulled the Doctor’s office door shut behind him. The wall screen of his office showed a live view of the six beds of the med bay, all empty but for one. Narin look even paler against the pale blue sheets, Jess was sitting beside him and while the Olesckian’s eyes drifted between open and closed, she sat in silent company. “It’s after lunch?” “A few hours, you need to eat something.” “I will later, I’m not hungry now. How are things here?” “Well, half the station is mildly sedated, figured it was better than letting them sit and fret and work themselves into a panic.” Jake didn’t try to tell him that Avalon didn’t panic, not anymore. “Sedatives are our friend.” “A lot more have asked for something to help them sleep tonight. Janet and Steve finished up in Meg’s office about an hour ago. I didn’t think you’d mind so I let them continue processing it.” “I don’t, if they weren’t competent they wouldn’t be here. Anything for me yet?” “No, the cleaning bots did a number on the room. No obvious evidence at all, not even foot prints, useable smears, blood spatter, nothing.” “I reprogrammed them, they’ll alert whoever’s on duty watch if they encounter blood again. We should have done it before.” “Why? It’s not like there’s much need for it, it’s not your fault.” “I know, I know.” He rubbed at his eyes and nodded at Narin. “How is he?” “Better now, but he almost died a few hours ago. Jess missed her calling, she’s good at this.” “Well, when everyone you know dies you get used to tending the sick. What do you mean he almost died? It was just a little cut.” Ben maneuvered Jake into sitting down and pushed a mug of coffee in front of him before he perched himself on the edge of his desk and watched the wall screen. “Little cut or not, he almost bled to death. He would have if I hadn’t been given those files yesterday. Olesckians have a frighteningly low blood volume, as you saw it’s real thick too and they’re slow to regenerate

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more. On a healthy Olesckian that cut would have clotted and sealed within seconds but Narin’s wouldn’t. I almost didn’t get it to, I had to use corn starch.” “What?” Ben grinned and nodded. “All my fancy equipment and drugs and not one of them worked. So I was getting desperate, he was half dead and I remembered the bottle of powder for the Ollielon, it’s a sampler, real old, I’ve been asking for an updated version for a year now. Anyway you powder it down before you use it. It’s basically corn starch, I impacted the cut with a ton of it and put a pressure seal on it and lo and behold it clotted and stopped.” “Why didn’t,” “His biology is too different, everything I have is set up for humans. Some of my drugs were even thinning his bodies natural clotting agents. Don’t worry, I’ve got the biology group working on a clotting agent that’ll work for him. Apparently, Oleskians don’t have any such thing in their medical science, there’s not normally a need.” “That’s why he blacked out?” The coffee was just what he needed, the strain behind his eyes was fading and the headache was going with it. He was starting to wonder if Ben had slipped a sedative into the brew. “No, that’s another interesting bit of Olesckian physiology. You’ll love this, apparently the only large predator capable of eating one of them has very specific hunting habits. It’ll go up to something and smack it with it’s claws and if it squeals and runs away off the predator goes, brings it down and eats it. Several species, including the Olesckians adapted. Now, if any trauma is sustained they black out cold. Their heart rates drop way down, respiration, body temp, everything. For all practical reasons they look like corpses and off the predator wanders, seeking livelier prey. The upside is with the low heart rate, they don’t bleed to death as easily. It’s fascinating. I was stupid, I revived him right off and up his heart rate went and on he bled.” “Like fainting goats.” “Hmmm?” “Fainting goats, a species of goat that if you scare them or hurt them they just pass out cold. It’s for similar reasons too. My neighbor had some as a kid, we’d sneak over and jump out at them and the things would drop over, the whole herd of them. I’ve never heard of it in a humanoid species.” Ben chuckled. “That’s just mean, poor goats. Imagine my surprise to read it in the files, I’d never heard of it at all.” “So, he’s okay now?” “Jake,” the amusement over the goats disappeared. “He’s dieing.” “You can do something about it though, right? With those files?” Ben sat down across from Jake and put on his best serious medical professional face. “It’s not something I can treat.” “Than find who can treat it and we’ll either bring them in or send him to them.” “Jake, it’s not like that. Olesckains are odd critters. They’re telepathic within their own species and one of the things they require to live is constant interaction on a telepathic level with others of their kind. They are such social creatures they simply can not survive without others of their

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species. That’s why that cultural treasure fellow has to travel with five others of his kind. They can survive just fine with a one on one bond with another but they couldn’t take the chance that something would happen to one so they sent a small party. Without that contact their bodies just start to shut down. First, they stop being able to process nutrients on a cellular level and that leads to a thinning. Literally, Narin is thinner than he should be and not just weight wise. Olesckian skin is strong, durable, Narin’s is like tissue paper, the walls of his blood vessels are barely holding in his blood, his bone density is a third of what those files say it should be. It’s why his blood isn’t clotting anymore and why he’s showing signs of anemia and malnutrition.” Jake looked to the screen and felt the double blow of grief. It was almost too much to loose another friend today. “Than we have to get his people to talk to him, they have to help.” “I’ve already tried, they won’t even speak his name. He’s been shunned, they view him as dead already because that sentence is a death sentence. According to those files, an Olesckian shunned by their people is dead within a year.” “But he’s been off world for four.” Ben shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I’ve no clue why he’s still alive. The longest any of his kind has survived once cut off has been fourteen months. Also, I know you don’t want to hear this, toward the end madness sets in. Delusions, paranoia, violence there’s evidence of cases with almost split personalities forming, the sane normal self and the crazed mania of being shunned. Narin is very close to the end and the shock of seeing his people, and he found Meg.” Jake shook his head. “That’s not possible.” “Of course it is. I’ll send the files to you, read them for yourself.” “I will. How long does he have left?” “A month or two, maybe less and if he’s slipping mentally so much now, it’s only going to get worse.” “I work with him every day, he’s fine mentally!” The anger snapped out. “You work with him every day but you didn’t even see how ill he was, you can’t say for certain he didn’t do this. We need to tell Mabel too. I don’t want to bury another innocent.” Ben snapped back. That stopped Jake, he really didn’t know the doctor’s history or what he may have seen or done in his own past. He was only trying to protect the people in his charge as best he could. “Okay, tell Mabel but tell her I’m taking responsibility for Narin. Is he strong enough for me to talk to him?” “He’s weak but there’s nothing more I can do for him. If he’s up to it he can leave. I was only holding him here until I could talk to you, to see if you wanted him confined.” “Ben, if I start confining people on the suspicion of this crime, two thirds of this station will be locked up, including you and me.” He stood and softened his tone. “If you can come up with anything to make his time easier, I’d be grateful.” “I’ll see what I can do.”

Both Jess and Narin looked to him when he came into the med bay, Jess smiled weakly and Narin laid in place with no expression. “Jess, why don’t you go make sure Daniel ate lunch, eat

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something too while you’re at it.” She glanced protectively at Narin but nodded. “Sure, I’ll see you later Narin.” “Good bye, Jess.” Narin spoke softly, the pale pressure bandage blending in with the pale skin on his face. “It was kind of her to see I was well.” “She’s a good woman. May I?” Jake waved to the chair Jess had vacated. “Of course.” He lowered himself down and found the Olesckian’s large eyed watchful stare difficult to hold. “I saw that you were trying to get into Meg’s system, why?” “If I were attacked while coding, that is where I would leave any hints to my attacker. I am not of your people, I don’t have a right to share in your grief so it was all I could do to be of any help. I’m sorry if it wasn’t proper.” Narin’s words were shy and almost painful. “You do have a right to share with our grief, you cared for her and she for you. Daniel didn’t mean what he said, humans sometimes say and do things they don’t really mean when upset.” Narin smiled gently. “As do Olesckians, I understand.” “I’ve asked him to finish getting into Meg’s system. Your idea of piggybacking we’ll use as a last resort. He was working with her on a few projects and they’ve shared resources, it should be easier that way. Besides, he really needs something to focus on right now.” He wondered if that was the full reason or if some of Ben’s worries had taken a hold of him. “I understand. Would it be proper for me to return to the Vendi project?” “Narin, I think you should take a break from work for a while. Take things easy, see if Dr. Taylor can help you at all.” He spoke as gently as he could. Narin’s hands balled up in weak fists and his too large eyes lowered to hide the emotion in them. “Please, Jake, don’t take my work from me. We both know there’s nothing Dr. Taylor can do for me. My time is short, I know this, please, let me do the Vendi project, please.” The split Olesckain upper lip gave his tone an almost childlike lisping accent and it broke Jake’s already battered resolve to hear him beg. “Tell me something first and I’ll consider letting you continue.” “Yes?” “How is it you’ve managed to survive this long?” Narin’s expression grew painful and distant. “I would have thought the answer was obvious. You and your people, Jake, there are dozens of psis here, low level but you’re everywhere. You’ve all allowed me to stand outside of your own togetherness.” His face took on a look of a fallen saint, someone who’d been cast out of heaven and forever had to watch others enjoying what they’d been denied. “It’s not the same but it’s far more than I deserve and it’s extended my time.” Jake had a vivid impression of the daily torment the man had been living in and it drove all concerns of his sanity, of Meg’s murder, of even the Butcher’s son sitting on his doorstep, out of his mind. “You’ve only been here three years, how’d you survive the first two?” Narin straightened with pride. “I spent the first year among my people and that’s how I learned I could survive longer on the residuals of their communion but as time went on it became like a

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poison to me, it burned so I did what none of my kind once shunned have ever done. I left. As you know I went to work for Benson and Forsytch and they code in concert, in groups. The work was enough for a while, the union of the code and pattern, the interaction, but I started to decline.” “And I was trying to get Menlowski to sign on here.” “She was a bad woman, you wouldn’t have liked her. She said awful things about your people.” “But you sent me your code anyway, why?” “I didn’t believe I’d make it another few months and I wanted to lead my own project, just once. Benson and Forsytch, they’re a good company but I didn’t want to, I didn’t want my passing, I,” he struggled for a moment for the words and ended up shaking his head and slipping into his own words. The lisping, whispery speech was almost musical in it’s tone but it carried his hurting intensity well. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know the words, I’m sorry.” Jake thought for a moment and frowned. “You wanted to be sure you weren’t forgotten.” “Yes! But it’s more than that, I, when I end, if I had stayed there, it would have been a notice on the system’s bulletin board and they’d shake their heads and never think of me again. I would have created nothing, touched nothing. I heard that your people were closely knit, much like mine and I, I just, I hoped,” he sighed again and shook his head. “I’m sorry.” “You hoped you’d be mourned.” Narin nodded solemnly. “Yes, I didn’t expect to survive this long. You’ve said yourself the Vendi project was impossible, no one else wanted to touch it, you said you were mad for accepting the contract. Please, let me finish it, it’s all I have left. If I don’t finish it, no one ever will.” Before he could answer Ben’s voice broke in over the intercom. “Jake, Daniel’s trying to reach you, want to take it in here?” “No, just patch it through.” It didn’t miss his notice that the Doctor made Narin frown slightly, a subtle change from his careful expression. Daniel popped up on the inset computer terminal, his face was worried and distracted but he frowned at seeing Narin. “Narin, I’m sorry, I misunderstood. Forgive me?” “There’s nothing to forgive.” “Jess told me, I didn’t know you were sick, I feel awful that my temper almost,” “It’s nothing, truely, it matters not at all. Please.” Daniel nodded but the guilt clung to his eyes. “Jake I think you need to see this.” “Did you get into Meg’s system?” “No, it’s still locked down solid but I managed to clone some of her files. It’s incomplete and some of it doesn’t make much sense. Or what sense it makes doesn’t make any sense.” There was a mad feverish look about him that was worrisome, he glanced over his shoulder. “Look, you need to see this.” “See what?” He shook his head. “The files are incomplete and if I tell you what I think it means you’ll have me

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medicated.” “Have you shown Jess?” “No! No, no one should see this until either I get the full files cloned or you read it and tell me if I’ve slipped off my rocker.” “Can it wait a little bit? I’ve got to finish up some things and I want to get Narin back to his rooms safely and see he’s settled in. Can you give me, say two hours?” He felt a little guilty putting Daniel off when the man obvious felt his find was important but it was only two hours and no one knew he’d maybe found something. The guilt returned to his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, of course. I’ll keep trying to get it to clone more, just, Jake, don’t tell anyone okay?” “You know I won’t. If Jess pesters you send her to the Dive, that’s where everyone will be gathering.” “Okay, just, two hours, okay?” “Two hours.” He smiled and tried to be comforting but the man’s worried look upset him. Daniel was a good man but he’d loved Meg dearly and he’d never once spoken to her about his feelings, remorse and guilt when mixed with grief could do awful things to a man. He shut off the connection. “I can manage.” “I know you can, I want to help.” “Jake, he’s really worried.” “And another two hours won’t make a difference, I want to make sure you’re okay. I thought maybe we could have dinner together. I haven’t eaten all day.” Narin thought about it but nodded. “Only if you let me find my own way to my rooms. You can go straight to whatever errand you need do and than come by afterward, we’ll eat and you can go to Daniel. That should be quicker, maybe I could follow you to the complex and I could start on the Vendi code again?” “Agreed but not on the code, let me think it about it a little.” Narin sat up and wavered and had to clutch at the side of the bed to steady himself. “You sure you’re okay?” He nodded and slid to his feet. “As fine as I get these days.” The smile he offered as proof of his well being was the bitter grin of the condemned. “If you’re sure?” “I am. Go.” He tried to look stronger than he felt, propped against the side of the medical bed. Jake offered him a worried glance but there was too much pressing on his mind to continue to be concerned when he’d been told not to be. As soon as the med lab doors shut behind him, Narin sat back on the side of the bed. It took long moments to steady his head, it was light and dizzy feeling and he tried to recover quickly. He wasn’t fond of Doctor Taylor, most human doctors truly, and didn’t want to be fussed over again. His luck held and no one, doctor or tech, noticed his weakness before he recovered enough to attempt to reach his room.

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Jake hurried down the corridors and hallways, the few people he passed looked shocked and slightly frightened. They nodded in greeting but the friendly calling out to one another that normally sounded was distant and gone. He turned a corner and practically ran into Ryan. “Gods am I glad to have found you! You’re a tough man to track down.” “It’s been one of those days. What’d you need?” Ryan motioned and drew Jake back away from the main corridor and into a small side alcove. “The Drake Moore won’t be leaving any time soon. Their main computer has developed a cold.” “Will there be any lasting damage?” “Naw, it’s my ‘dogs of war’ program, from the sims we ran a few years back. You remember ‘Cry havoc and slip loose the dogs of war’ or whatever the line is. It’ll ping pong around their system until I pull it out but unless the Fleet’s gotten vastly better at diagnostics they’ll never spot the source.” “If they’d gotten any better they wouldn’t be farming so much of their work out. You didn’t use the central system here did you?” “For the dogs of war? Please, don’t offend me!” But he grinned to take the sting out of his protest. “I used my home system and bounced it off a couple of Concord route beacons. They’ll never trace it back here but Jake, that’s not why I was looking for you.” “Oh?” “Yeah, look, I know you didn’t tell me to but I got to wondering so I did some checking. Do you know just what’s wrong with their ship?” Jake folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve been a little busy for repair updates.” “Well, I bought Amy Goreky lunch today. She’s one of the people assigned to the repair team. It seems their dickin’s shift broke.” He leaned forward and whispered it. “Dickin’s shift, that’s sounds oddly personal. I’ve never heard of it.” “Me either, we’ve never heard of it because it doesn’t break, ever. Amy says she’s never seen one go out suddenly. Eventually they’ll wear out but apparently the wear is pretty obvious so it always gets replaced before it snaps or whatever. If it does go out you can rig around it but not successfully. It’ll get you to a post but it won’t hold.” “So it’s a repair that has to be done but isn’t fatal.” Ryan clutched Jake’s arm. “I did some more snooping. The Drake Moore was in for overhaul and repair six months ago, right before it picked up the Olesckian party. So unless the Fleet engineers are slipping way down the quality control list,” his words died off and he shrugged meaningfully. “You think it was deliberately sabotaged?” Ryan held out his hands. “Your words, not mine, if they were mine I’d be shoving that son of a bitch out of an air lock by now.”

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“Easy now, easy, let’s not jump to conclusions. Keep this to yourself, okay? We don’t need a riot.” “You don’t need to tell me that twice. Too bad Mercy isn’t here, she’d be able to tell right away who among us did something that horrible. I bet you didn’t hear, there was a huge backlash to Tina Stemple’s interview last night. There’s gossip going around about a second interview with the Tor’sal’dorn but done by the cameraman, I forget his name but he’s supposed to be some big time photo journalist that only took this assignment because he’s doing his own documentary on them.” It felt absurd to speak about net show gossip almost in the same sentence with sabotage and murder. “I hadn’t heard.” “Don’t worry about it, I’ve the main computer set to record anything on Mercy. I figure no one’s going to be in the mood to watch much of it now anyway. It might be a good distraction once all this settles down.” “Agreed, I forgot all about it. Are you done for the day?” “Unless there’s something else you need me to do? I’ve got a few programs running spiders out to see if anything like this has happened on any other stations. I’ll need to sort the results later but the programs should run for a few more hours. What do you need me to do?” “Just go to the Dive and be with the others. Help everyone keep a level head.” Ryan grinned. “That’s asking a lot, no one here had a level head before this!” Ryan’s parting words may have been said as a joke but there was far too much truth in them. It had to do with so many low level psis living in such close quarters for so long. If a handful of them were edgy or stressed out they’d spread it to others and like dominos, soon even the flat lined non-psis were feeling the tense unease around them. It went for the whole range of emotions, from anger to delight and back again. A playful spirit in the air could wreck almost as much havoc as a malicious one and Jake was far from immune. In spite of his plea to Ryan, Jake’s own head didn’t feel all that level. He was feeling wound up and itchy, too much was falling apart too fast and he didn’t like the form those pieces were taking. So rather than be logical and go straight on to Mabel’s office as he’d intended, Jake took a branching hallway and indulged in his own craziness in the hopes that indulgence would purge some of it. He was surprised when the door opened before he could ring for entry but not to see Flick standing on the other side. “Come in Dr. Ellia.” The suite Jess had put them in was designed for family visits, it had a round, large central room with three bedrooms, the walls had tasteful but boring prints and the furniture was the same they used in all the rooms, well crafted but not at all trendy, hand crafted wood from Avalon. The Olesckian party sat around in easy comfort and watched him with wide, almost childlike eyes. “We heard of the tragic death of one of your people. May we offer our deepest sympathies.” “Thank you, can we speak alone?” Flick waved to the room and moved further into it. “These are my bondmates, there are no secrets between us. Feel free to speak openly in front of them.” “You can save him.”

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“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” “Narin, you can save him. I learned what he’s dieing of today. You and your bondmates,” the word came out in bitter sharpness and he knew it was from Narin not his own hurt. “You can save him.” Flick shook his head sadly. “The dead can not be saved.” “He’s not dead!” Jake nearly shouted and wanted to shake the tall lean man. “You are not Olesckian, you can not understand. You think poorly of me but I loved my brother, dearly, he was my closest bondmate. His death was a death for me as well, can you understand that?” Flick returned Jake’s frustrated anger with his own and some of the emotions behind his carefully neutral mask slipped forward. “Than how can you stand here and let him suffer when you know it’s in your power to stop it?” Flick drew a long, slow breath and his eyes focused on the group around him. “It would make little difference, to comfort the specter that was my brother. What would it gain? A few more weeks, months? Would you knowingly prolong the suffering of your brother?” The truth hurt Jake. “No, I wouldn’t, but I’d find some way to help him. He’s a good man.” “When my brother lived, he was the best of men but the fact that he didn’t do the honorable thing when he was shunned is just further proof that the creature that lingers is not my brother.” “The honorable thing? You mean suicide?” Flick merely inclined his head. “It would have made some amends for his sins but he chose not to.” “Than help me to understand, surely what ever he did doesn’t warrant death? Or maybe now should warrant forgiveness? He doesn’t have much time left.” “For what he did, there is no undoing and can be no forgiveness.” Flick’s long face and wide eyes were deeply mournful. He placed a long fingered hand on Jake’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, Dr. Jacob Ellia, for a human, but no good can come of encouraging this half life of his. It’s already brought ill and will only bring more.” The Olesckian’s tone sent a chill along Jake’s spine. “What do you mean by that?” “I mean only what I said, now, if you’ll excuse us, Doctor, the distress of your people sways us and we’d like to mourn your grief in private.” The long hand on the human’s shoulder grew firm and guided Jake to the door. He was outside before he could make sense of Flick’s words. Was it some warning, echoing Ben’s own concerns? Were they trying to tell him that Narin was a threat, that he was responsible for Meg’s murder? Maybe Narin hadn’t been trying to crack her lock to help, maybe he was trying to get in to destroy evidence. It all seemed too much, too cloak and dagger. The words most likely meant just as they’d sounded. Narin’s slow lingering death brought him pain and brought pain to his family, shunned or not and would only increase as his condition worsened. The Olesckian couldn’t have meant more than that, if he suspected Narin surely he’d have spoken more clearly. How far did their obsessive desire to distance themselves from what they saw as the dead go? Did it extend so far as to allow innocents to be brutally killed? Were such a gentle people capable of such coldness? They were capable of shunning and by so doing killing, one of their own, that made them capable of anything in Jake’s book. It wasn’t a comforting thought.

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Heroes & Ghosts: Outpost Section Three

“Sweet Jesus, Jake, you look worse than I feel. Sit down before you drop, I was about to pour a drink, you want one?” Mabel stood at the edge of her office, a small, cluttered space that she lived in more than her room. Jake didn’t wait for a further invitation, he dropped hard into one of her old chairs and felt his body slump into place. “What are you drinking?” “I was about to have a beer, want one?” “Yes, but if I do I’ll fall asleep, got any coffee about?” “Just the carton stuff.” She held up one of the cartons and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Perfect, thanks.” He caught the container she tossed at him and pulled the tab, the bitter black brew began to heat. “I’ve heard some interesting reports today.” “Oh?” She leaned against the corner of her desk and sipped from her own carton. “It seems the Drake Moore is having some odd computer problems, it’s made it unsafe for flight. You wouldn’t know anything about that now would you?” “Me? I’ve been too busy to put two thoughts together. How would I know anything about their second rate computer.” He tried to sound tired which was as close to innocent as he was able to manage. “You’re such a tech snob, if you had a hand in it I’m not upset. I don’t like the idea of them flying off and taking Meg’s killer with them.” “Neither do I.” “I’ve also been told that Cardel’soli Narin is dieing and that his illness causes madness and violence.” She drank casually from her beer but watched Jake sharply. “He is dieing, yes and sometimes it does cause madness but Mabel I don’t think it’s him. What motive does he have? Why not kill his brother? It doesn’t make any sense.” “Madness doesn’t have to make sense, Jake. I like the boy, he’s a good egg as it were but you

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can’t be blind to the fact he’s looking pretty guilty.” He put his coffee down and sat up in his chair. “Why? Because he’s sick?” “And he doesn’t have an alibi, you said yourself he left after the broadcast.” “So did I, if that’s the strongest evidence against him you could have done it, Ben could have done it or I could be guilty. Maybe we’re all mad!” He knew he was snapping at her and he shouldn’t, it wasn’t her fault for asking questions that needed to be asked. “Don’t be absurd, there’s only three people I’m sure of, that’s you, me and Ben.” He took back up his coffee and felt the fight leak out of him. “I know, I was just making a point. I’m not ruling him out but I don’t think he’s mad, at least not any more than the rest of us.” The carton was growing warm in his hands but it didn’t dispatch the chill in them. “I’ve seen madness, the Bare Earth virus that was dropped on us, it’s second mutation, caused madness. I’ve seen people that looked as sane as you and I but I could feel the craziness below the surface. I don’t get any of that from him.” She met his hazel eyes so circled now with exhaustion that they looked sunken and the almost desperate need for understanding on his face. “I believe you. I trust your hunches and feelings more than any volume of medical science, maybe I’m crazy.” She sighed. “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me, just keep an eye on him. I don’t want you to be proved wrong. If the boy’s as sick as you say, he should just be given the space he needs to finish his time without us looking at him like he’s a loon.” She reached out and kicked at the leg of Jake’s chair. “So why did you darken my doorway with your shadow?” “I wanted to know,” before he could finish his sentence an alarm sounded and a red light began to blink on and off again on her console. “Fire alarm?” She moved so quickly she nearly spilled her beer and her fingers danced across the screen. “There’s been an explosion, oh God, it’s down in your offices Jake.” “Daniel was working down there!” He was out the door before she could stop him and he didn’t wait for her to follow. Alarms were going off on a dozen consoles and the fire was alerted to those, in theory, who had to know of it. He knew it was more than the necessary personnel, that all of his people had tied their home systems into the alert systems. He ran the whole way, pushing past people that hadn’t heard of the newest disaster and startling more than a few with his panicked dash. He arrived at the doors to their office at the same time Ryan was skidding to a halt, Jess close on his heels. “What happened?” He demanded. Jake waved them off and pounded on the sealed door, it was buckled slightly but it was the fire containment lock down that had them shut. “I don’t know, Daniel was working in there.” “Oh no,” Ryan moaned and they waited in the hallway, listening to the sounds of the system doing it’s job inside feeling collectively sick with dread. Mabel hurried up to join them, for all the urgency, she couldn’t bring herself to run in mad panic the whole way and when she’d almost run over Ben on his way to the fire they’d slowed to a more orderly pace. No one could get in until the suppressant foam was finished anyway.

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Narin was the last person to join them in the hallway, he moved carefully and with an unstable pace that wasn’t at all like his normal grace. He scanned the hallway and stayed back from the door. “Where’s Daniel?” He asked to the tense waiting group. Jake just shook his head. “He’s not in there.” Narin answered but it wasn’t in the tone of a frightened denial. “What do you mean?” Ryan turned to the tall man. “Daniel, he isn’t in the office.” “How do you know?” Narin shrugged and looked away uncertainly. “I don’t know, I just do.” The foam suppressant system shut down with a whirl and a click and the doors to their office unlocked. Jake keyed them open but they stuck halfway, he and Ryan had to put their backs to it and with great shoves forced the doors apart wide enough to allow entrance. The central room was blackened and damp from the rapidly evaporating foam. The chairs that had once been clustered around the common console had been blown across the room and were twisted from the force of the fire and explosion. The central console was a total loss, it was black and broken, a great scorch mark spread out from where it sat. The walls to each office were shattered and broken, some merely cracked and others lay in splintered parts, blown inward to the separate desks. It was the sight of their small offices that was horrifying. A smaller fire and explosion had claimed each desk and system, the walls of the offices were burned and scorched, computer interfaces were cracked and thrown around like children’s toys. The destruction was total. “Oh my God.” Ryan whispered into the silence that followed. “Even Meg’s office was burned.” Jake pushed past where they stood clumped together in a stunned lump and moved to check the scorched and destroyed area for a body. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or frightened that Daniel wasn’t to be found. “He’s not here.” “Why?” Jess shuffled forward, frightened to touch anything. “Why would he do this?” Narin had gone not to look for Daniel but to his office, he returned from it’s ruined husk with his shattered visor in his hands. The horror on his face was cutting, the look of a parent that had just lost a child. “Jake, the code, the programming?” Ryan looked to Jess, she looked to him and both looked to Jake. He shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry, Narin.” “It’s gone?” He gasped and his knees buckled a little but he stayed on his feet. Ryan moved quickly and got an arm around the Olesckian. “Easy now, easy, it can be redone.” “Not in time.” Narin whispered out before his words staggered off into his own language. Ben came forward. “I’m sorry, Jake, all of you. If there’s no need for my services, I should clear out, we should try not to disturb anything.” Jake nodded and slowly they ushered back out, people were starting to gather in the hallway outside. Mabel caught at his elbow and stopped him but he held up a finger and asked her to

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wait. “You two, get Narin to my rooms, he needs to rest still and I think we all could use a drink.” Jess nodded but Ryan answered. “We’ll meet you there, I’ll have them poured.” “Jake,” Mabel broke in when they were safely away. “I know you won’t like this but we don’t have anyone that’s at all experienced in the aftermath of an explosion. I’m going to ask Captain Gore to send in some of his folks. Until than, you and your people should stay out of there, there isn’t anything that looks salvageable anyway. I’m so sorry.” “So am I Mabel, so am I.” His small room was crammed full with the four of them but it was the only place he was certain they could speak securely. Narin had sat on the foot of Jake’s narrow bed, the covers pulled up but still unmade from his rough waking that morning. His mind trembled at that idea, it hadn’t even been a full day yet, perhaps this time yesterday or a little later, Meg was being butchered while they danced and sang. It was almost enough to make him collapse in beaten exhaustion and surrender. Jess had placed herself next to Narin and without conscious thought she ran a hand over the alien’s back. He was collapsed forward on himself, his arms resting on his knees and nearly folded in two. It was seeing his total defeat that woke Jake up, he was only tired and depressed. A little sleep and some time and he’d get better, the Olesckian had no such hopes. Ryan pressed mugs of tea into their hands. “I didn’t think any of us should have anything to cloud our thinking. Here, Narin, drink this.” Narin roused enough to accept the mug pressed at him but not enough to speak. Jake accepted his own and took the only chair in the room since Ryan had elected to perch on the chest at the foot of the bed. “You’re going to have to move, Ryan, get my gear from the chest would you?” “What’s going on? I thought we had a memory dump in place?” Jess asked, still trying to soothe the grief from Narin. Jake held up a hand and ordered his thoughts. “First, there are some things you need to know about Narin.” He found himself telling the others all he’d learned about Narin’s condition, how fragile he’d become, how important his work was. With a small, almost inaudible moan from the Olesckain, Jake told them all he knew of Narin’s shunning, of how his brother was a few hallways away and did nothing while he died. He told them about the chance of madness and how some were viewing Narin as the primary suspect for what had been happening around them. “This is true?” Ryan asked but not of Jake, he watched the tortured man he’d worked beside and yet knew nothing about. Narin roused enough to nod but not to raise his eyes. “It’s so. For some, toward the end, the blood vessel walls begin to leak into the brain. It’s not a promise to happen, just for some.” “Dr. Taylor said the files show that eventually the vessels are too weakened to carry blood and will rupture.” Jake said carefully. “Oh, Narin.” Jess whispered. “Why didn’t you tell us?” “There’s nothing to be done for it. I didn’t want pity, just to do my work.” “Now, the question comes to this; do either of you think Narin is guilty of murdering Meg?” Jess didn’t answer and Ryan shifted in his seat before he spoke. “What did you do, Narin, to be

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shunned by your people?” “I can’t,” Narin shook his head and briefly glanced to Ryan. “I can’t speak of it. I’m sorry, please.” “That’s not good enough! We’re told you have a medical condition that might make you prone to doing these horrible things and not even remember doing them and that you’ve been exiled for some unspeakable crime and than asked if we can trust you? I need to know what you did. Did you murder someone on your world?” “No!” “What than? What?” Narin shook his head. “I caused harm to none but myself. I injured no one other than my own family with the shame of my sins. Please, don’t ask me to shame myself in front of you as well. Let it be enough to know I harmed no one but myself, please.” “Enough! For Lady’s sake, Ryan, you’re four points higher than me and I’m about ready to cry. You feel the truth of his words, don’t you?” Jess was crying, the tears slipped from her eyes unnoticed. Ryan looked away ashamed for pushing so hard. “He didn’t do it, Jake. I’m sorry Narin, we’re not all that skilled but we do have some empathy. It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me, I believe you’d never hurt anyone.” “Good. Narin, nothing was lost. About two months after we got up and running a short went through the computer systems, it fried everything. We lost almost a year’s worth of work and if I hadn’t had copies in external drives we’d have been royally screwed. So we installed a memory dump for the computer systems. It’s physically buried way below the station and shielded and it’s one way without the proper pass codes. Every few minutes it automatically clones an exact copy of the top side systems, including our own.” He held out his hand to Ryan and accepted the portable gear handed to him. “Why would you keep this secret? I thought the back up was in the central console?” “It is but the central console is backed up too. We kept it secret because, well,” Ryan looked to Jess for an answer. “Well I don’t remember, we were pretty drunk that night.” She smiled warmly. “That was good wine too. We kept it secret because the point of a back up that can’t be touched means it shouldn’t be touched. We Avalon folk are a curious lot and if it was common knowledge someone would eventually find a way to poke around in it. This was about six months before Meg came on board and a year before Daniel, close to two years before you showed up. Frankly, we’ve had no real need for it. What I don’t understand, Jake, is why keep it such a secret now?” “Because someone went to a great deal of trouble to destroy all the data in our system and I won’t risk them destroying the copies too. Ah, here, see?” He pulled off the visor and passed it and the access board to Narin, this system wasn’t advanced enough to have gloved interfaces. Narin pulled the visor on and saw the Vendi project glowing back at him. It was almost sweet enough of a sight to make him weep. “It’s all here. If it’d been lost, I’d never have caught back up.” His hands slid across the access board. “Meg’s system is still locked. This is odd, here look.” He pulled the visor off and handed it back to Jake. Jake pulled it on. “Daniel’s files are gone. Corrupted.” “It doesn’t make sense. Why destroy his own files and blow up the lab? I don’t understand why

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he’d do it?” “Jess, Daniel wouldn’t.” Ryan answered carefully. “Now whoever did it believes they succeeded.” “It’s more than that.” Narin spoke softly. “Whoever did this to the lab, most likely killed Meg too. Daniel said he thought he found something in her system, he was cloning an open version onto his system.” “Yes! He said it was starting to clone for him but than he shooed me out when he started reading it.” “I didn’t get down there to see him before the lab blew up and he didn’t want to speak about it until I saw what he found. These files are gone but it’s not a custom job, it’s a standard clean sweep.” Jake pulled the visor off. “So, who knew Daniel was working on getting into Meg’s files?” “We all did, Mabel, Gore, I didn’t tell anyone.” Ryan said. Jess blushed. “I might have, in fact I’m sure of it, to a couple of people. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have,” “It might not have mattered. A simple bug on Meg’s system would tell anyone if someone was looking into her system. Even a child can run one of those programs, this sweep on Daniel’s system isn’t special either. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” “If the sweep was ordinary, why sweep it at all? Most non-tech folk would assume that blowing up the central console would do the job.” “Unless Daniel did do it and he wanted to be sure we couldn’t read his system.” Jess added and shook her head. “I can’t see Daniel doing this, it’s unbelievable.” “Or whoever did this was just being absolutely sure the job was done. If they didn’t know for sure if the files could be retrieved.” “I want to believe that Jake, I really do.” “So what do we do now?” Ryan was tired and his mind wasn’t willing to wrap around conspiracies when tired. “Mabel’s taking care of the investigation on what caused the blast and she’ll look for Daniel but I think we all know if he didn’t set the explosives and was capable of it, he would have come to see what had happened or at the least met up with us here.” He looked at their eager and ready faces and felt the weight of making such choices. “Whoever we’re dealing with has already killed one of us and maybe two of us, I’m not worried about risking my life and this is harsh but Narin,” “I’m already dead, I’ll take any risks you lay forward.” “You’re kidding right? We’re programmers, not members of the Psi Guard. Our greatest danger is eye strain and sore hands.” Ryan protested and nearly knocked over his tea, sitting cooling forgotten. “Something in Meg’s files was enough to torch our office over, it very well may be a file naming who did this to her.” “Or the reason she was killed.” Jess said softly. “Maybe, in any case there’s something worth viewing in her files and who ever is trying to protect them has been willing to take some extreme measures already. I’d rather not risk all of our necks. So, Jess, Ryan, I want you to focus on the obvious. Plan a memorial for Meg, get our

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offices cleaned up and ready to go again and above all, I want you both to watch, listen and take care of each other. Narin and I will actively pursue this and make it clear we’re pursuing it. There are a hundred and fourteen people on this station right now and one of them has done something that will mark them as different. If we draw their notice, they won’t be looking at you two and maybe you can spot them.” “Before they cut you two to ribbons? I don’t like it.” “You don’t have to like it Ryan, but I need you to do it. Narin and I will start working tomorrow on cracking into Meg’s system but we all need to focus hard on finding Daniel. He’s gone missing, no one will think it odd if we look for him but don’t seem panicked about it. Make it sound like he’s had a breakdown and we’re worried about him, that he’s slipped off for some alone time. Whoever our adversary is will think we’re still assuming the fire had to be Daniel and that were as stupid as we look.” “Speak for yourself!” “Get out of here, all of you, get some sleep, but I’d recommend locking your room door.” The thought was a cold one, no one on the station locked their doors. Jake was asleep the moment he laid down, shoes still on and still in the days rumbled clothes. His rest wasn’t peaceful and the nightmares that chased his dreams were mixed images from the day’s draining events and the horrors of his past he’d thought long since laid to rest. The dreams faded and he jerked away from their grasp and found himself laying in a twist with his blankets, frightened and feeling trapped. He shook off the clinging touch of the sheets and stumbled to his feet, his breath gasping sharply in his chest as he fumbled for the light. The room looked comforting and ordinary in the dim glow and he moved to the bathing room and bent over the sink. The cold water he ran over his hands washed away the remains of the nightmares and he splashed water up onto his face. “Get a hold of yourself, you’re coming apart here Jake.” He told his reflection and didn’t like the scared rabbit look on his face. “Hold it together.” There was no way he’d be able to sleep now so he grabbed a shower and shave and pulled on clean clothes. The time on his clock still hadn’t moved close enough toward morning and he paced his small room trying to settle and order his thoughts. There was too much to do for him to merely stand around and his own anxiety wasn’t going to allow it. He tried Daniel’s room first and wasn’t surprised to find no one answered. He opened the door anyway and found the cluttered room untouched and empty. He touched nothing and shut the door behind him. He almost returned to his rooms to work or try to sleep but his skin felt like it had been hit by a low jolt of electricity and his nerves were vibrating, he’d neither sleep or be able to focus to accomplish anything. Breakfast wouldn’t start being served for at least another hour or so and there wasn’t much on the station to do so early in the morning. The garden doors opened and the smell of the moist, flower scented, green growing air was just what he’d been looking for. He wandered inside and let his feet carry him along without thinking too much about where he was going. The air was still, that was the only real flaw. There was no wind, no breeze to rustle the leaves on the trees and he’d never noticed it before. His mind picked up the thought and worried over the logistics of adding a breeze to the open cavern. They could program it to vary in direction, strength, and duration and truely make it feel like a valley planet side. Jake looked up and found himself on the edge of the mediation grotto, the chimes were softly

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ringing and the water bubbled to itself. He shook his head at his own subconscious and got the point, he did need to try to center himself before tackling the coming day and he should have understood before now what it was he’d been looking for. He stepped into the glade and jumped back startled. Movement by the waterfall recoiled as well, a form scrambled to a sitting position with a frightened gasp. Jake moved forward carefully and squinted into the dim light but the pale face was unmistakable. “Narin? What are you doing here? You scared the life out of me!” “I was,” he peered around him in open confusion, one hand holding his side distractedly. “I must have fallen asleep. What time is it?” “A little after four now I’d imagine, are you okay?” He moved across to where Narin had lain, asleep in the garden. He nodded and shifted his weight trying to ease some of the pain that made his body ache. “I will be, I’m told it doesn’t get much worse than this.” Jake lowered himself down onto the soft grass and knew the look in the man’s eyes. “I didn’t know you were in pain.” “It’s worse in the morning. I’m fine.” He straightened up to prove his words but the wide eyes were creased around the corners with the efforts. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” “I was, it wasn’t very restful.” He rubbed one hand with the other and shook his head. On a whim he reached over and took up one of the Olesckian’s hands and turned it over. The narrow palm and long graceful fingers offered no protest. The palm was slightly abrasive and rough, the nails, while well trimmed, were rounded like claws. They would have been strong and deadly had they too not reflected Narin’s ill health, now they were brittle and thin. “You’ve the hands of a programmer, long and graceful. I don’t.” He released Narin’s hand and held out his own to show the square, strong palm and short thick fingers. “I’ve my father’s hands. He was a fisherman.” He looked up and found Narin watching in quite interest, willing to hear but unwilling to pry and Jake grinned again. “You’d like Avalon, it’s a good balance between primitive and technology. It’s almost back to what it was before the occupation and virus, just with a lot less people. When we get this mess straightened out and you finish the Vendi project we should go to Avalon for a visit. I’ll show you the village I was born in and we’ll put a stone on the graves of my family. They’d have liked you, though they were loud and out going and you might have been over whelmed with them. Colin, my brother, would have loved you, he was quiet like you are.” The trip was a nice dream. “I would have liked to have seen your village.” “You’ve so little time?” “I’m not sure I’ll finish the Vendi code but some of that might just be because I’m still weak from bleeding so much. Things look worse when you’re feeling poorly.” “Narin, I’m sorry we didn’t notice sooner, maybe we could have done something.” “You’ve given me friendship on what had been a cold exile, it’s far more than I expected. Far more.” His head raised up and for a moment his eyes looked beyond the garden and his face grew sad. “What is it?” Jake looked but saw nothing to so distract Narin. “My brother’s awake.”

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“You can feel him?” Narin nodded. “Not like before and not for years but with him being so near. He’s eager to be gone, my pain burns him. I didn’t wish to cause him further hurt.” “Just how telepathic are you?” “With humans? Not very, slightly so.” “Could you tell who killed Meg, could you touch someone and maybe try to see if they’re guilty?” “That’s assuming I haven’t done these crimes?” Narin raised his near invisible eyebrows. “You didn’t do this.” “Hopefully not but if my mind has so fragmented, wouldn’t my conscious belief in my own innocence be enough to trick you, Jess and Ryan?” “It would but Narin, they know that as full well as I do. It’s not about proof but faith. They believe, and so do I, that you couldn’t do something so awful, no matter how ill you are. We’ll believe even if you doubt, so can you do it?” Ryan was right, Mercy could do it and maybe so could Narin. “I don’t know, I’ve been trying very hard to not force my presence on any of your people.” His tone took on obvious hunger. “Would you try?” He held out his hand to the Olesckian and offered himself as the test experiment. Narin paused. “Jake, this might not be a good idea.” It was the voice he used when Jake tried to offer advice on how to code, polite but firm. “Please, I’m willing to try.” Narin stared at the hand the human offered with it’s reddish, too soft, too thin skin and knew he should refuse. It wasn’t safe and it wasn’t proper and he ached with a hunger to accept so deeply he felt he might weep with the will to refuse. He was so lonely, so consumingly lonely and the offer was more than he could turn from. He nodded weakly and slid his hand into Jake’s. “Just, I’m a little out of practice, I haven’t down anything like this in years.” He suddenly felt uncertain and a little afraid. “It’s okay Jake, I’ll be careful, just relax.” It took more than a few steadying breaths to come anywhere close to relaxed. There was an awful moment when Jake feared they’d all been wrong and maybe Narin was insane. He’d be vulnerable and helpless and the alien man could easily shred his mind as simply as he’d shredded Meg. Only the idea felt wrong and paranoid. He’d meant what he said about belief and having occasionally to take a leap of faith. There was no doubt that he believed Narin was innocent and this was his leap. The thought settled his nerves and a warmth, like really fine brandy, spread across his limbs and nerves. Gradually, he became aware of his own body, his skin felt too tight to hold his soul. It wasn’t a frightening feeling nor an unknown one, it was his own small skills reaching out, just as his mother had taught him when he was still young. Only this time when he expanded beyond his own skin he touched another and was absorbed

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into there’s. It wasn’t a pleasant place, filled with longing and despair. There was loneliness and shame enough to choke his breath in his throat. The body was throbbing in pain, his stomach suddenly ached in cramped agony, his joints, now in wrong places, burned. The whole of it, the pain of the body and the depression of the mind was held together by a will stronger than he’d ever imagined existed but that will was low and almost exhausted, the well it sprang from was almost dry and barren. Than it occurred to him that this was Narin. Just the surface but the depths were there as well and he was staring at the Olesckian as surely as he was being stared at in turn. It was far more information and knowledge, more intimacy, than Jake had ever learned or felt from his low psi skills. There was no fear, no worry and instinctually he opened to the connection and it trembled on the verge of something greater. Narin released Jake’s hand as if it had suddenly became a viper and he pushed across the grass on his heels and hands, scrambling to put distance between the two of them. His whole body trembled and shook, the aches he was used to feeling, the consuming aloneness, had deepened into a torture he’d never imagined. It collapsed him down into the grass with a moan and he ached with the cruelty of this new punishment. Jake’s vision cleared in time to see Narin’s body curl up, all his limbs tucking in. His face was turned into the grass but Jake could hear his friend’s pain filled sobs, muffled by pride and weakness. “Narin?” He hurried over to the man’s side but stopped short of touching him when the Olesckian flinched from the contact. “Lady’s sake, man, you should have told me this was going to hurt you this badly. I never would have insisted. Should I call Dr. Taylor?” For a moment, it hurt so much Narin thought he was dieing, his whole body spasmed up into the posture of the dead. It was such a consuming agony he would have welcomed death but again fate was cruel and with each breath some of the pain faded. “No, no doctor.” He managed to wheeze out but he still wasn’t sure he could move. He cursed in his language and gradually forced his body to ease until he was laying flat on his back. “You’re tears are pink.” Jake carefully dabbed at the man’s face with the cuff of his sleeve. “You didn’t tell me it would cause you this much pain.” Narin wiped at the tears and was surprised to see the pink tone, he dabbed a knuckle to his nose and it came away with a spot of red, small and sticky thick but there. “Burst a few blood vessels that time.” He felt gingerly along the bridge of his nose and felt the tender, raw spots in his sinuses. “It wasn’t the touch that caused pain, this isn’t your fault.” “What happened? It didn’t hurt me.” “I’m sorry Jake, I can’t do what you ask.” “I don’t give a fig about that now, what happened? What was that?” Narin let the grass pillow his body. “That was the opening to a communion with a bondmate.” The words alone brought back pain and tightened his chest. “What your people do? The bonding they do?” He managed to nod. “It must be because you’re a psi, I crave it too much, I can’t stop it from happening. I’m sorry.” Jake’s head was spinning. “Wait a moment, why would the link your people create with each other cause you pain to create it with a human?” “It didn’t, it was, it was” he searched his knowledge of their words for one that fit best and only one came to mind, “nirvana.”

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“This doesn’t look like bliss to me.” “The pain came from the effort to stop. I won’t be able to again, I’m not strong enough, I’m sorry Jake.” “Wait one minute.” He said again and sat back on his heels. “You’re dieing because you’ve been shunned by your people and your species can’t survive without the psychic communion of your people. Yet, you just said what was happening was the start of that communion and you stopped it?” “Yes.” The word gasped from him and the irony of it was bitter. “Are you crazy? Do you want to die?” Jake took one of the Olesckian’s limp hands between his own. “Do it again but let it run it’s course this time.” “Jake,” “Do it!” “It’s not right, it’s not even supposed to be possible to form the bonding with a human. It’s not fair to you, you don’t know what it will mean, we don’t know if it might harm you. I can’t, please, I can’t.” But he wanted to, he wanted to so desperately. He was drowning and for the first time had seen a line tossed to save him and it had taken every bit of strength he had left to refuse and do what was right. “Well, apparently it is possible with some humans and I’ll decide what’s fair for me, not you. I don’t think it will hurt me, it felt safe, there was nothing on my end to suggest danger. Do it.” He tried to reach out but there was a wall between them now and he knew that unless Narin let him in, he was too weak of a psi to force his way. “You don’t know what it means, you don’t know what it is to be a bondmate.” “Than tell me and let me decide.” “I’m not sure I can be saved now anyway, I may be too ill to recover.” “Stop it and tell me what it means.” “I would know you and you would know me, there would be no secrets, there never can be again between us. Each time we commune nothing will be held back. When not communing I will always know your well being and you mine. It’s deeper than brothers, it’s like part of one soul will forever be housed in the other. It’s not something to accept lightly or out of pity. It is not something natural to your kind. I am not worth such a sacrifice. It’s too much.” That gave Jake a pause, there was plenty in his past he’d like no one to know. There was plenty lurking there that he tried not to remember. “Does that mean you’d be able to read my mind all the time?” “With another Olesckian, with invitation, yes, with a human, no. I doubt I could if I tried, outside of communion.” He longed for the bonding, burned for it. Part of him was hungry enough to force the communion on Jake, the human still held his hand, but even in his reduced state he hadn’t yet sunk quite that low, almost but not yet. For a moment, Jake almost refused. It was too much, too personal, too intimate a thing to ask of anyone and Narin was right, they didn’t know what it would do to him. It was unlikely there would be any harm but what if they were wrong. His reasons for refusal were all selfish. It was the memory of the depths of Narin’s loneliness, the agony of his need that changed his mind. It

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wasn’t a selfish desire or request, it was a matter of Narin’s own life or death and even with all that pressing on him he still chose to ignore his own need, his own emptiness and desire for connection, to protect his friend. Jake knew he could trust more than his mind to someone that would do that, he could trust him with his soul. “Do it.” Narin trembled in his effort to stay in control. “You’re certain, I won’t be offended. It’d be wiser for you to refuse.” “Do it Narin.” As the dome over head began to glow slightly, a glimmer of slightly less black blackness, in imitation of the earliest moments of dawn, Narin opened his mind to the human’s and felt Jake reach for and open his own to the Olesckian’s. Narin wasn’t surprised at the depths of courage and strength in Jake, nor of the levels of pride, but he was surprised at the grief he carried and the hidden pain of loss. It was a first bonding, a careful flowing into one another. To Narin it was the first time he’d felt whole since he’d been shunned and the first time since that moment that he had even the slightest desire to continue living. He saw the death around Jake, a mother shot in the head by a man in a Fleet uniform. Her blood spraying over her sons as they stood in mute horrible silence. He saw the weapon turn toward Colin, Jake’s younger brother and felt the cold panic of fear. Jake had stepped in and offered his own life and begged for them both. Narin tasted the shame of the humiliation of having to beg and the humiliations and mocking the guard troop heaped on them. He saw a beloved uncle being hung. Narin learned for the first time that Jake had been married. He knew instantly their families had felt they were too young but with the uncertainty of the Concord occupation they’d consented. Sharply he was cut with the agony of seeing her dead, killed by the virus dropped on them to force them to submit and with her their first child, a daughter, born too early in the hopes of saving her. Jake had buried them both and over the months tended the bodies of all his family, his father, his aunts and cousins. Soon there was too much death and his relations went into pits with neighbors and were burned, the stench choked Narin and made him ill. Only Colin survived and it was at Jake’s pleading that they’d moved from their village to Arcadia, their only city and where the doctors were seeking a cure. Narin felt the soul breaking grief of Colin’s death, the guilt, the clear knowledge that he felt he failed his brother. The shame smothered him and with it came the shame of other acts and deeds. Jake’s hands were not clean of blood and the cold comfort that it had been war was very cold indeed. He felt Jake’s fear of being known, felt the certainty that if Narin saw his past he’d be forced to hate him. Fearful of how the bonding worked, frightened of really being seen by anyone, of being mocked and misunderstood. Part of him was terrified to relive that moment of vulnerable weakness with a gun to his head and his mother’s blood on him, being mocked and humiliated simply because he was born to the wrong culture. Gently, Narin let it be known it didn’t work that way, there was no judgment in a bonding, only acceptance. He proved his point by opening all he was to Jake and not even hiding the deepest of his secret heart from him. Jake knew in those moments what it was to be Olesckian. To run wild across vast rolling hills and wide valleys of grasslands that were cut by narrow streams and shallow lakes. The trees were small, dwarfish things compared to the soaring heights of the ones Jake had known as a boy, but in their low forests was wild life and the trees scented the air with a musky sweetness. He ran bare foot beside his brother, Flick, and they followed where the nomadic wanderings of their family/ clan/ tribe, took them.

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When ever they crossed paths with other wandering clans, they were welcomed because Narin’s parents, his mother and father both, were lorekeepers. Only the words carried more weight and depth than it did in the human words, it was a sacred keeping. They were treasured and both Flick and Narin were being raised to follow in the practice. Jake became Olesckian and understood, Flick was only a half brother, they shared a father but different mothers. Narin’s parents were more than just his mother and father but the small, close group of bondmates they were part of. He’d been raised with siblings and four mothers and four fathers but of all the siblings, only Narin had been conceived and born of two lorekeepers. It was a birth that was unheard of because of how few lore keeper there were. While Flick showed the vocation and the calling, Narin glowed with the skills like a lantern across a dark valley. People crossed vast distances to share camp not just because their clan had two adult lorekeepers and two children being raised as such, but because even half grown, Narin’s skills were wide spread and much sought after. Flick should have been jealous or envious, in any other family the focus would have rightly been his but the bonding between the two brothers was so deep that there was no room for such pettiness. The bond between them was so tightly woven that their parents, all eight of them, seriously considered arranging a family bond marriage for their sons into the same family bond. The idea of splitting them was painful but the idea of bonding two lorekeepers to one clan, one single family bond, was unheard of and would be considered highly selfish. The choice was made for them when the family received an invitation for Narin. The greatest living lorekeeper had heard of his skill and had offered to bond with him, to teach him and to take him into her family. The family bond was much older than Narin, most were older than his own parents, but the honor of such an invitation was too great to refuse. They promised to find another bondmate in a few years, someone closer to Narin’s age and that settled it. Narin was sent to Gonforlosh, the largest permanent city on the whole planet, a port for space farers. Jake felt the cutting pain caused by being sent from his family and from his brother but they didn’t sever their bond, not yet, not until Narin fully bonded to his new family and even than they still might not. It would depend on what his new family said, how jealous they might become over such a deep bond with his brother. Only when he arrived, the lorekeeper’s family was unwilling to rush a bonding with him. They understood the total change his life had suddenly taken, to be removed from his family and kin to be given to a group so far from his own age. They understood the shock he felt at the city, the tents clustered together and set permanently in place, the lack of open wild grasslands to run freely on and more people, more minds, than he’d known existed. They gave him space and time to adapt, including him in their communions but not bonding with him, delighting in his skills and his youth. Until one day, while exploring the cities, he found a human. She’d been hurt, stabbed or shot and was bleeding far too much and yet still lived. He was fascinated, he’d seen a few humans from a distance but never up close. Her skin was mocha, her hair curly and dark and she was strong and nearly as tall as he was. He knew her people lived behind the screening walls at one end of the city and once he’d seen one of their ships rise into the sky, a frightening, unnatural sight. Her need was great and he lifted her and carried her to the opening of the screen to her people’s compound. His one day bond family hadn’t been displeased and already there had been discussion of sharing their lore with the peoples from the stars. They thought his skill, his youth and flexibility would serve well and suggested Narin should go and see how the woman he’d carried was healing, to see if maybe he found the outsiders less disturbing than most of their kind did. They wanted him to spend time among them to see if he thought he might be able to for long enough to travel and share the lore with others.

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It was an idea that made Narin sick with fear but he went to the human’s compound as he’d been told. The woman had been badly wounded but she was recovering at a shocking pace and welcomed the tall, awkward Olesckian youth with warmth. She was a programmer and maintained the compounds computer systems, did repair on the systems of passing ships and to Narin was a magician of dark and evil technologies. Her mate, for she had no bonding and didn’t know the joy of communion and lived with but one other and not a family, was the compounds medical doctor and he was as welcoming as his wife was. Narin was fascinated, the man’s skin was golden yellow, his hair and eyes shiny black and those eyes were small and slanted to a point. They were kind to him and understanding of his uncertain and shy questions. As he visited them they took him more and more into their care and keeping, as they would any child. He was confused by the pity he felt in them for his marriage and how total his life had been devoted to becoming a master lorekeeper. Just as they were confused by his almost fear of their technology, how he recoiled from it as if it were poison. They mistook his fears as primitive ignorance but correctly saw the bright intelligence behind it. Bit by bit they accustomed him to the use and sight of technology, so much so that when he was given a chance to watch a ship lift from the ground and streak toward the stars he was no longer consumed in a quaking fear but he still struggled with a sick unease. His one day bond family had been pleased, crediting the adaptation of youth to his ease, they could barely stomach the sight of humans. When Narin was asked by his new doctor friend if he would submit to examination, they’d agreed he should. Never had he wanted to run from his duties more than he had on the morning of the agreed examination, the taste of the air spoke to him of open valleys and distant places far from alien ideas and technology. The elder master lorekeeper had never once chosen to bond with or share her skill and knowledge with anyone and for him to refuse her requests and the duty he owed his one day bond family would shame him and his family beyond words. So he wrapped what fragments of his courage about him and presented himself to the doctor’s study. He’d been prepared for the worst but it wasn’t unpleasant. The man was awed by his anatomy and openly allowed Narin to view and study the differences between them, offering his own form as an example and pulling up images on his screens. The gadgets he used caused no pain and only slight discomfort and soon his natural curiosity about the alien outsiders and the doctor’s open frankness with his questions had him forgetting any of his fears. He soon learned much of their machines were the same and the pair indulged his curiosity with delight and amusement. It worried his one day bond family that he was loosing his inborn fears but they were pleased he was progressing to accepting the idea of traveling so quickly. One day, after many weeks of debate, he asked his human friends for a chance to hear their lore. It saddened him that they had no lorekeepers and they placed him in front of a soulless machine instead. But the machine, the computer, held more lore than he’d ever imagined existed, lore from thousands of cultures and worlds, from thousands of years. There was no soul in it the way a lorekeeper would create but it was there, stored and treasured and accessible to all. When he showed his wonder at the machine, they showed him all the vast uses it could be put to and he was humbled and awed. When he saw his female human friend create lore, code, for the first time he was convinced he’d seen the hand of God. That was the only words Jake’s mind could use, for even though the Olesckians are not religious people, the deep rooted emotions the programmers coding of the computer evoked in him was as deep as any religious fanatics ecstasies. The computers that drove so many of their machines were molded by the lore told to them from the programmer the very way the lore of his histories molded the way of his people. The first time she showed him how to code the most basic of programs and he understood he could create lore he was

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consumed with a sense of wonder and power greater than any he’d felt since he was a small child and listening to his mother or father sharing the lore with the people. It was such a strong feeling that he avoided his human friends for weeks, frightened of the lore they’d shown him how to create. He knew it was wrong, he knew he’d crossed a line and in communion, for the first time in his life, he held something back. If his soon to be family had moved sooner and bonded him, there’d have been no way to keep the secrets of his heart closed but they hadn’t and he did and that was his first sin. His second sin was that even though he was aware that it wouldn’t be approved of his yearning to know more was too strong. The need to understand more burned in him and he returned to the temptations. His human friends didn’t understand the wrongness of his actions, they taught him anything he asked to learn with the pride of parents. Soon he was visiting them nearly every day, soaking up learning like a sponge, studying from them or their computers at a frightening pace but what he loved most was the code. Both sins would have been forgivable offenses. He was young and being held in limbo, unable to communion with his brother, his only bonding now, and unaccepted by the much older family he was wedding into. The guilt and blame would have fallen to them, so much older than he and so their fumbling of his handling would have been their shame, not his own. At worst he would have been bonded to a nomadic group and sent back out onto the grasslands and distance alone would serve to break his growing thirst for off world interests. Sadly, Narin knew his lore too well and his third sin was unforgivable. It came to him in the deepest part of the night. He’d awoke from a dream that he ran across the grasslands crying out to his people that they had been lied to. The lore that had been handed down for countless generations was a lie, the technology they feared and avoided was not evil. There was nothing wrong with the technology in and of itself and if once, long past any living memory, the use of such technology had truly nearly destroyed their people and world, the evil was not in the machines but in their users. The truth of his realization was as terrifying as any fear he’d once held of the humans and he lay awake, chilled. The computers, the machines, were no worse than a walking stick. It could support a long run but could bash a man’s head in just as easily but the stick wasn’t evil. The evil his people feared was in their own nature and they’d spent centuries running from it rather than facing it. Understanding was like a blow to the skull and he reeled from it. His world no longer was what he’d been raised to believe and he held back from communion because there was no way he could hide this truth in his secret heart. His soon to be family allowed him the time for solitary meditations without questioning why he felt a need for such. After several days of fevered seeking the answer rose to the surface, his people’s ways were lies, their fears unfounded and they had to be told. A new lore had to be created, a new balance must be found or surely, in time they all would be doomed. Once the thought had taken a solid form he rose from his meditations needing to speak to someone, needing to share the profound depth of his new understanding and he found his would be bond family waiting for him. While he’d been gone, his human friends, worried by his absence, had contacted his home. In doing, they’d spoken of how much, and how well, he was learning, they spoke from pride not knowing they were damning him. There were no words he could or would be allowed to offer in his own defense. They forced a communion on him and painfully tore open the secrets of his heart. Jake cried out in the depth of the shame and the sting of the violation. They found his truths and would have forgiven him if not for the final sin. If the conclusions he’d achieved had been wrong, they’d have harshly punished him for thinking so about the lore of their people but he was damned for seeing the truth and needing to help others see the truth. After his mediations there was no doubt left in his soul, he knew to the fiber of his being the truth hidden from his people and that truth condemned him. He couldn’t be allowed to spread the hideous honesty to his people, the evil had to remain hidden and they shunned him.

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Shunning wasn’t a common punishment, even the worst criminal was merely executed. The lingering half life and slow, painful death of the shunned was feared more than any shame or punishment and only a lorekeeper could mark someone as shunned. The greatest living master lorekeeper proclaimed him unclean and raised her shrunken and weak fist and hit him. The blow itself was weak but with it came the severing and the mark it left was unmistakable to any Olesckian. The mark of the shunned spread out from that single blow and broke his bonds, the tie to his brother dissolved. The emptiness was total, Jake staggered under it and felt Narin stagger as well. Felt the pain of the sentence that had been delivered to him press him down and the mournful depths of his despair. He was dead, he was a non being and with out coin, food or supplies, with only the clothing he’d mediated in, he was driven from his home. He hadn’t eaten during his mediations and he hadn’t communed and now he was a walking corpse. All doors shut to at his approach, the mark of the shunned terrified any he approached and he staggered out into the city seeking death. Word spread swiftly among his people, the greatest living master lorekeeper had shunned the strongest and most promising young lorekeeper, a young man who only a few days before she was singing praises of, saying to all who would hear that he would be greater than even she had been at her prime. Soon, all knew his crime was a lorekeeper one, that he had taken in too much and had fallen before his pride, that he had betrayed his people in a deep and horrible way but none were willing to ask for details. Narin wandered the alleys and streets of the city, none aiding him nor even glancing at him. He neither ate nor drank, he slept where he fell from exhaustion and knew death would come soon. Only it wasn’t death that found him. In his wandering he’d staggered into the lowest districts of the city, the places where those with no honor lived, those who were unclean. Narin had never communed with any of their sort, their social standings divided them as surely as the mark of the shunned divided him from all his people. For as low as they were, as untouchable to the station Narin had once possessed, even they would not welcome one shunned into any communion but that didn’t mean all of them held the same fear of him. He was taken upon by a group and beaten. Nairn knew how to fight as any who was born and raised on the open grasslands knew but he offered little resistance. His spirit was too broken, his body too worn and he couldn’t will himself to do anything to stay the arrival of death’s hand. He didn’t know they weren’t death’s messengers until they dragged him from the street and stole his clothes and put him to his new use. Even now, in the first communion he’d been allowed to share since that moment of shunning, Narin’s mind recoiled and shied away from those memories. He’d fought with true will and strength, he didn’t mind death, at that point he longed for it, but he refused to have his tattered life so abused. They’d merely laughed and forced him into submission. Bile rose in Jake’s throat, his throat not the memory of Narin’s. They dragged the broken man to a room that was dark and had no free moving air. There he was kept, forced to eat and drink to prolong his half life and used at their will. He stopped fighting, unable to be forced to submit and stay sane he obeyed meekly. They communed within feet of his hell and knew the torture the denial was and yet, the very chance to watch from the outside of their communion was reward enough to prompt him to do anything they asked. He was broken in that dark and airless place, in body and spirit and he had no memory of how long he lingered there. Until one day, when he wasn’t quite sane any longer, light flooded the room and armed and armored beings, humans, flooded into his hell. Terrified by the threat of their technology, weapons and menacing armor he recoiled from his saviors and they’d been forced to sedate him to safely haul him from the room he’d been captive in and into the transport ship that had nearly landed on the district his captors lived in.

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He awoke to warmth, his body clean for the first time since he had been shunned. The numerous wounds and broken bones had been tended and his body was wrapped in soft fabric. His human friends had searched frantically for him when he’d been shunned and had gone to great efforts to learn who had held him captive and to free him from their hands. They’d also tried to bring charges against the people who’d so horridly mistreated him but none of the humans had any authority and none of the Olesckians cared. He’d been forced, while still more unconscious than not, to explain to them what none of his people would. In their eyes, he was already dead, he was a non-being and any mistreatment he suffered never occurred. Many nights he woke from the painful haze he floated in to find his female human friend holding his hand and weeping at his bedside. Much to his dismay, the doctor’s skill was good and he began to heal in body if not in spirit. For weeks he drifted as his body healed, trying to reach to the deepest of his bonds and found his brother had shattered what remained of the ties between them. There was no reason to live and he waited until his human friends were more trusting and, in the dark of the night, he slit open his own belly. He would have died too had his female human friend not rose to check on his sleep and found him half dead and unaware in the slick pool of his own thick blood. When he woke again the pain of still being alive was almost as great as the first moments of his shunning. The humans were more careful with him and this time before he was even half way recovered they tried to get him to speak of what he endured but he refused, it wasn’t something to be shared outside of a communion. Finally, with his strength returning and with it the certainty he would try again to end his life, his human female friend came to him and sat by his bedside. She presented a coding problem, something he knew now that was given in a final university exam to test skill and knowledge. She claimed it was something that was stumping her and asked his insight. For days the problem stared at him and for days he tried to ignore it but gradually the patterns needed for the answer, the lore needed, came unbidden into his mind. He knew what the solution was but not how to create it and rather than show him how, she merely showed him how to access their library and how to hunt down the knowledge he needed. Eight months passed and Narin continued. He lingered like the ghost he was on the outskirts of his people, drawing what comfort he could from their communion. He lived with the humans, inside the shelter of their compound and found himself frightened of being alone with his own kind. When his human friend’s tenure ran out they left, unable to bring him along and he was alone among acquaintances and with his studies. Soon he couldn’t bare the touch of even the residue of his people and when his friends contacted him about a chance to study off world, he’d set aside the fear he still had over space travel and left his home behind. Almost as suddenly as it had started, Jake slammed back into his own body. Released from the connection, his body protested the horrors shared. He managed to scrambled a short distance away before his stomach retched and he vomited, only he had nothing in it and he gagged and spit out bitter bile. Narin was instantly at his side, frightened. “Jake? Jake, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to harm you, let me help you to the doctor.” He shook his head but every time he tried to speak another wave of nausea over took him and left him retching and gagging on his knees. To alien eyes, it had to look horrible and frightening, he didn’t even know if Olesckians could vomit and he struggled to regain control of his body. “We should get you to the doctor, I’ve hurt you.” “No,” Jake managed to wheeze out. “You didn’t, it’s okay, it’s passing.” He coughed and gagged once more and felt certain the spasms had passed. He pulled himself a little bit away from where he’d become sick and collapsed onto the grass. “Oh, gods.”

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“Tell me what I can do?” Narin hated feeling helpless. “Just give me a moment.” Jake rubbed his eyes and found his face streaked in tears. Narin’s was as well and he wasn’t surprised they’d wept for each other’s pain. “Did it work? Will this happen every time?” In answer Jake felt the part of his mind he connected with his psychic skills warm and when he noticed it he felt Narin, felt the man’s concern and worry and below it the aching pain of his body. Only there was a difference, a large portion of the mental agony was gone, where there was emptiness now there was fulfillment. “It worked. I’ve never felt anything like what just happened to you?” “It’s normal for humans, if we eat something bad or are ill. Some of us, myself included, vomit when emotionally shocked. You felt that?” Narin nodded solemnly. “You’re my bondmate and no, it won’t happen every time. It was intense for me as well, to see the pain you carry and never share. Normally, in a new bonding, hours are taken to share and when the sharing is complete there is the harmony but I don’t think either of us were up to much more.” Jake had a moment of uncertain unease, he knew now that the Olesckians were naturally bi sexual and the term bond mate had many meanings. “Does this make us married?” Narin actually laughed, the first time in years he’d laughed so easily. “No, not as you humans know the word. This makes us brothers.” Brothers was a bitter sweet word for them both and it resonated across the newly formed bond. “Brothers.” Jake agreed. “Narin, what they did to you.” His anger choked his words, his hatred of the crimes that had gone unpunished and he knew it flooded over to their link. “It’s better not to speak of what was shared, at least not while the sharing is so raw and new. Are you truly well?” Jake lay down in the grass, his body still weak from such a violent need to empty itself, the dome overhead had only lightened marginally. It had felt like days but less than a half hour had passed. He turned inward and took stock, there was a spot that had eased, as if some hard, cold, knot of emotion had loosened and softened. It was a good change and he smiled. “Yeah, I’m truly well. You?” Narin closed his eyes and pressed both hands over the center of his chest, where his heart was. “I am bonded, I am no longer alone, I am reborn.” “That’s good?” He laughed again, warmed by the life connected to his own. “Yes, Jake, it’s very, very good.” “Good, than we should go eat, I’m starving and if I don’t find some coffee I’m going to die.” He forced himself to rise and Narin followed. Nothing had changed, not really but at the same time, everything had changed not just for Narin but for himself as well. He was reminded of the lesson his father had taught him when he was very little and jealous of the attention Colin was getting. His father had given him one stick and told him to break it, he had with ease. Than his father had given him a small handful of tiny twigs and again asked him to break it. This time he hadn’t been able to. “You are the single twig.” His father had told him. “You’ll break if you try to face life alone but that

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bundle you can’t snap is you and your brother and your cousins and friends. They are the people you will stand with against all the troubles and worries. It’s the strength of the lot of you together that will keep you all safe and whole.” He hadn’t really understood it, not than, he was too young. He thought that it meant that his brother was a pain but he was family and you stood with the twigs that were your family. In truth he wasn’t sure he had ever really understood what his father had been trying to tell him until right at that moment, when he knew intimately what it meant to share and stand with another. Olesckians died if they were forced to stand alone, maybe that was the more merciful fate, humans only broke and were forced to linger on un-mended. “We need to focus on finding Daniel, if he’s not turned up.” They were close to the doors to the garden now and his thoughts were settling into the day’s own worries and problems. Narin reached to key open the door and paused. “I was considering that while I meditated last night.” “Any ideas?” “A few yes. If we’re working on the assumption that he’s hiding, willingly, from someone he fears, there’s only a few places he could safely do so.” The door slid open and the ordinary hallway waited for them on the other side. “The thermal scanners, they aren’t surveillance standard but we have them, he’d be avoiding them.” Jake’s feet froze in the door way and Narin continued past him into the hall. “The scanners aren’t locked down, most of the biology departments and a few others have access to them, so it’s safe to say the killer does as well. They’d have to check the station room by room but eventually they’d find him, the scanners are almost everywhere.” Narin waited but Jake didn’t move. “There’s only two places without them.” “Yes.” “The new tunnel we’re blasting,” He stepped forward and the doors shut behind him. “And the gardens.” Narin finished the thought, nodding. Jake paused and looked over his shoulder toward the garden behind the closed door. “That means he could be in there now, we should go look for him. Narin,” He never finished the sentence. A great roaring sound swept over him and made his ears ring. It was followed by a vibration and than Jake was in the air, flying far too slowly forward. Part of his mind grasped what was happening, understood there was an explosion and that he was being thrown forward. His thoughts froze and his worry in that split second wasn’t for himself but for Narin. The man was china doll fragile still and Jake had a horrible mental image of a shattered egg. His body hit something soft and yielding and he wrapped his arms and legs around it, thinking, knowing it was Narin. They slammed together against the hallway wall and instantly a crushing weight smashed into Jake’s back. For a moment there was heat and than the heat was gone and they fell to the floor. The weight came with them but with no where near it’s former strength and they all landed in a messy heap on the hallway floor. Just as the worst seemed to have passed and Jake was pretty sure he was still alive, he heard what no man in space ever wanted to hear. The air around them hissed, and than it roared. It pulled at the debris in hungry fingers and soon rushed past them. The weight that had before

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pinned his body painfully shifted and Jake found himself praying it would hold and continue to weigh them to the floor. And than it stopped, as suddenly as the air rushing past had started it merely stopped. Like some great vacuum cleaner with an on and off switch, the massive and very expensive self sealing dome had finally sealed. His battered ears had a moment of silence, a second of stillness and Jake wondered if he was deaf before the sounds of the debris falling came. It was plants, dirt, rocks and trees, anything picked up by the force of the breach and it all dropped. With it came the horrible sound of human screams silenced after a long eternity with a crashing thud, it was the last thing Jake was aware of before he happily slipped into blackness.

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Heroes & Ghosts: Outpost Section Four

It was the pain that forced his eyes open. He tried to curse whatever was the source of his hurt but all he could manage was a weak groan. The weight that had pinned them so tightly to the deck was gone, or at least he thought it was gone, his legs seemed to have disappeared. He tried to move and fiery pain seared across his back and his breath caught in this throat. His head pounded horridly and his eyes refused to focus. Nothing connected, nothing made sense and he couldn’t recall how he’d come to be in so much pain. He scrambled after the memories and found the link to Narin, their newly formed bond. The Olesckian was alive but Jake was hurting too badly to feel more than that. Voices were trying to speak to him and he tried to focus on them but they made no sense. He had to find Narin, the man was fragile, they needed to find him. Jake forced his eyes to focus and he looked to his side to see Narin being carefully carried from the rubble by a pair of Fleet guards. The Olesckian’s skin was bruised and splattered in blood, the thick of his own and thin human blood. Dirt and ash coated his pale skin and the sleeve of one side of his shirt was missing, scorched and burned away. The arm below it was red, blistered and swollen, the pale skin peeled back from the burned area and lightly sealed in glossy, thick blood. Jake felt cold panic at seeing him in the hands of the Fleet. The fears he normally kept so carefully tucked away were too close to the surface and the memories too fresh from the sharing of the communion. He’d seen too many people taken by the Fleet and then killed or never returned. He’d seen too many people being moved around, hurt and limp as Narin, by those in Fleet uniforms. He struggled but hands held him still and the pain choked his breath. “Try to hold still, help is here, Dr. Ellia, please, hold still.” The hands holding on to him urged. Jake turned to see who it was that was holding him and he stared into the face of the Butcher. It was all like some dreadful nightmare and he couldn’t wake up. He flung out at the hands. “You

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won’t have him! I won’t let you have any of them! We’ve done nothing, we’re innocent, please, please, leave us alone!” He cried out, pleading, lost between past and present. Gore held the man steady and had to use the strength of his legs as well to keep him from thrashing and doing even more harm to himself. The door to the gardens had exploded outward and the force had broken it into sections. One of which had impaled the programmer in the back. Part of it still lay buried in his back and spine but the length lay out among the rubble. His people were carefully cutting the section away from the larger portion but until he could be in a medical bay, the door fragment had to remain in place. “Dr. Ellia, you’ve got to hold still.” Gore tried again but it only prompted more panicked thrashing. “The Butcher, the Butcher!” He gasped in wide eyed terror. Gore reached out and caught the man’s face in his hands. “I’m not my father! Jake, I’m not my father, I’m here to help you, do you understand?” For a moment, Jake didn’t and he was scared in a deeper way than he’d felt since childhood but the face drifted into focus. The difference between father and son were obvious and some of the reality of the moment returned. He nodded. “Yes, yes, I do, I’m sorry, I,” “It’s okay, just hold still.” “I’m hurt.” “Yes, but you’ll be okay.” “There was an explosion.” “Yes, a bad one.” “The dome,” “It held, it’s okay.” “No, it cracked, it, the air, the pressure, it’ll crack it open again.” “It’s okay, I’ve people taking care of it, they’re working on it.” The wounds on the man were enough to make Gore’s stomach churn, he assumed that Jake was in shock for how well he was taking the wounds. It took a moment to have the words sink in and form understandable patterns and for once he didn’t mind the Fleet’s help. Than he remembered the screaming. “How many,” his breath caught in his throat. “How many are dead?” “Don’t worry about that.” He clutched at Gore’s uniform. “How many?” “We don’t know, not yet, it’s a mess in there.” The truth of it was the crack to the dome was wide enough that a body could have been blown out into space and they weren’t sure that hadn’t happened. There couldn’t have been more than a half dozen people in there, given the early hour but a half dozen was a huge blow to take. Before he could fully digest the idea or start to worry or think about who it might have been, Steve, one of the med techs moved into his field of vision. “You look like something the cat’s dragged in, Jake, how’re you feeling?”

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“Not good.” Steve pressed a sprayer against Jake’s arm. “This will knock you out, trust me, you aren’t going to want to be awake for when we move you.” Steve kept a hand on his shoulder as the medicine spread across his system. It dulled out the pain and than took it away, with the relief came cool, peaceful blackness and Jake was happy to be sucked away into it. “Easy, easy now,” Jake heard as he swam up from the deep sleep he’d been happily floating in. “How are you feeling?” He cracked his eyes open to see Ben hovering at his side and he shut them again to try to find an answer to the question. “Rotten.” “Well, that’s a start. Come on now, wake up. Are you thristy?” At the doctor’s words he suddenly felt parched. “Yes, very much so.” “Good, drink some of this.” He held a straw to Jake’s lips and held the glass. The juice was watery and cool and the best thing he’d ever tasted. There was medicine mixed in, he was sure of it, because within moments of it hitting his system he was feeling more alert. His back felt tight and sore under the bandages but his legs had returned, he wiggled his toes just to prove it to himself and was comforted to see them moving under the blankets. “Narin! Where’s Narin?” He asked as soon as his mind cleared, he reached for the Olesckian with their bond and found it active. The touch gave him a sense of warmth and strength that wasn’t his own. “He’s fine, better than you. He had a concussion, a few burns, some really bad cuts and bruises but other wise he was fine. You took the brunt of the force, they found you shielding him. What were you doing in the gardens so early?” Ben scolded and moved the glass away. There were exhausted circles under his blood shot eyes. “I couldn’t sleep, Narin, he didn’t bleed badly?” “No, damnedest thing too, he bled more than an Olesckian should but it was well clotted before we even got to you. You, I can’t say the same about.” “That bad?” “Yeah, that bad, it was touch and go for a while, you lost a lot of blood. Some of the door lodged in your spine and you burned your back pretty badly. Don’t worry, I repaired the damage, in a few weeks you’ll be good as new.” Jake knew enough about medicine to know that it was a serious injury and he’d have been kept immobile for a while. “How long did you have me out?” “It’s almost three days now, I wanted to keep you out five but Mabel insisted I wake you as soon as it was safe. Easy, don’t try to move, you shouldn’t be up and about for a while yet.” “Has anything else happened?” Three days was too long, there was too much time lost already and Jake struggled to sit up. “No, nothing. Jake will you settle down, you can’t get out of bed yet.”

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“How many are dead?” He brushed off the hands and forced himself to sit up, his back was painful and weak but there was none of the sharp, fiery pain he remembered. “One dead, three hurt not counting you and Narin. Maybe two dead, Daniel’s still missing. There’s talk that he might have been in the garden and gotten sucked out.” Ben steadied his friend and shook his head. “You’re too stubborn.” “Who me?” He groaned and felt light headed but refused to lay back down. “They think Daniel did this?” “No, Narin’s looking pretty guilty about now.” “Narin?” “Yeah, Mabel has him confined to his room. She wanted to have him placed in the Moore’s brig but they wouldn’t have him. Said it was all circumstantial evidence and they wouldn’t hold a man on that.” “He didn’t do this.” “Jake, he’s sick. People are saying he killed Meg because he was jealous that you let her keep working and than blew up the lab because you’d pulled him from duty and than he blasted the dome in an effort to kill his brother and himself. It doesn’t help that nothing’s happened since he was locked in his room.” Ben shrugged. “I mean, come on, his own people cast him out.” Jake shook his head. “I never thought you had a cruel streak in you Ben.” He stopped himself from saying more, suddenly uneasy and he knew it was a fear of Narin’s. The Olesckain wasn’t comfortable around Ben. “We know nothing of his supposed crimes, we’ve no proof of such and I’m sure I’ve done things as bad or worse during the occupation. It’s not a kind death they’ve sentenced him to, the least we can do, guilty or no, is show him a little understanding.” It hurt him to not instantly defend Narin, to shout that he knew first hand there was no way Narin was guilty. He’d bonded to the man, he’d communed with him, there was no way he’d have been able to hide such crimes or such madness. But Jake had survived a war, undeclared, but still a war and he’d learned a few things, not the least of which was to never show more than you had to, even to your friends because an advantage wasn’t one if too many people knew of it. “You’re right, I’m just tired and not inclined to mercy for who ever did this. I’ve been in surgery almost around the clock, Maggie Mallone, she was almost to the top of the dome when the crack sealed. I don’t think there’s a bone on her not broken, it’s been difficult putting her back together.” Jake put a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Than she’s lucky you’re here, we’re all lucky to have such a good doctor.” “Than stay in bed and don’t pull my work apart! Show some appreciation.” Before Jake could answer the door opened and Ryan rushed in. “Jake! You’re awake!” “Hey Ryan, how are you?” He shook his head. “Better than you. What’re you doing up?” “I’m going to my room and I’m going to rest there.” He looked hopefully to Ben. The doctor just shrugged. “Only so long as Ryan makes sure you get there safely, you rest and if you need help you call for it. If I’m tied up one of the techs can help you. Deal?”

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Jake nodded eagerly and it made his back ache. “Yeah, deal.” He reached for his shoes and looked for more normal clothes, the comfortable, loose fitting garments of the sick didn’t suit him. He found shoes but no clothes and Ryan jumped to snag them. “I can get it.” “Let him, or I’ll think you won’t be listening to our deal.” Ben warned as he turned to leave. Ryan was already tugging them on his feet for him and he moved to help ease Jake from the bed. His whole back spasmed when he stood upright and he would have lost his balance and fallen had Ryan not been steadying him. “I’m alright. Let’s go.” “You’re sure?” “Ryan,” “Yeah, you’re sure.” Ryan held his tongue until they were out in the hallway. “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, you know, Narin said you were awake. Jess is in his room, we’ve been meeting there, want to go there as well?” “Yeah, you and Jess, do you think?” “About Narin?” He shrugged and leaned in close under the pretense of helping Jake. “Wait until we’re alone.” So Jake waited and was surprised to find an armed Fleet guard standing watch outside of Narin’s room door. The man barely looked up when they approached, his orders were simply to keep Narin in place, not to stop visitors. Ryan opened the door for him and let him pass through first so he could seal it behind them, Jake was surprised to see he locked it as well. He’d never been in Narin’s room but wasn’t surprised at it. It was neat and orderly, almost barren. No prints hung on the wall, no knick knacks cluttered shelves, no clothes or blankets lay about in untidy heaps, the room was orderly and careful. It had the feel of a room holding it’s breath, expecting, waiting. Jake wondered if Narin would actually breath life into his surroundings and make them his own now that he wasn’t condemned to die. Narin was propped in the corner of his bed, his back pressed into the corner the headboard made with the wall, his legs drawn up and folded. A visor and input gloves lay discarded beside him, the light on the visor blinking in stand by. Jess was at a chair at the small table, pouring out freshly brewed tea and she looked up and smiled when they came in. “Jake! I can’t believe you’re out of bed so soon.” “I’m just sore, Ben says it’s okay so long as I rest.” Ryan was fussing at his elbow and rather than shoo the man away, Jake let him help settle him on the other end of the bed. “Jake.” Narin said in greeting, bowing his head slightly. Across their bond came relief tinged by the worry that had nagged at him, concern for his well being and a deep sense of welcome. “Narin.” Jake acknowledged back and found his own concern for the other racing along their link. “I’m well.” Narin answered verbally. “Okay, that was creepy. What just happened?” Ryan asked as he crossed to the room’s only other chair. “What’s going on, how’d he know you were awake and what’s with the weirdness?” Jake wasn’t sure he should say anything without knowing where the pair stood on Narin’s guilt or innocence. The concern vibrated down their bond, which was stronger being so much closer and Narin nodded.

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“They believe in me, it was discussed and agreed upon to encourage and allow the general thinking of my guilt while you were so vulnerable.” Narin explained. “That way our Mr. Hyde didn’t have to club your head in while you were in the med lab. If everyone, even Ryan and I, thought Narin was guilty, maybe they’d relax and stop blowing things up.” She handed out tea to the men and each in turn accepted. “It made little difference to me to be confined to my quarters, I was to weak to do much walking around.” “Mr. Hyde? There’s an Alma Hyde in communications.” Ryan just shook his head. “Read a book once in a while, would you?” The reference was quickly explained. “We needed to call our bad guy something other than Mr. Big Bad Guy. Now, what is it you aren’t telling.” Narin carefully studied his tea, unwilling to speak of their bonding. He had no shyness about it but it had all happened so quickly, so unexpectedly that he had no chance to learn if Jake may wish to keep it hidden. He felt the hesitation and uncertainty in his human friend and prepared to listen well so he could learn and support whatever lies Jake told. “The morning of the explosion,” those were surreal words to hear himself say, “I found Narin by chance in the mediation grotto. Ryan, remember what you said about how Mercy would be able to tell right away who was guilty? Well, I thought maybe Narin could do the same. It turns out he can’t but because I was a psi, we found out he could bond and commune with me.” “Jake, you didn’t?” Jess leaned forward, torn between fascination and a vague sense of revulsion. “Of course I did, could you stand by and refuse knowing you had it within your power to save someone?” “Didn’t you learn the lesson of Alvin Beane?” “Ryan,” “Alvin Beane played hide and go seek with alien psychics too and no one’s found his mind in twenty years.” “It’s not like that.” “So, you two are bonded?” Jess asked carefully. “Narin is my brother, yes.” “What’s it like? You said it wasn’t like that, what was it like?” Ryan demanded. Jake sighed and looked to Narin. He didn’t need to ask to know the man supported anything he wished to say, or not say. “We shared our histories. I know it sounds absurd but it wasn’t, isn’t. I feel stronger since I was a child, I don’t feel as alone. I can reach and feel a spot in my mind that’s Narin.” “Are you telepathic together?” It was something Jess had always wondered about, what it was like to share thoughts with another, what it was like to be a strong psi. Her rating was low and limited her to vague impressions and sensations and some days she longed for more. “No.” Narin answered.

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At the same time Jake answered, “Yes.” “Which is it?” Narin grinned. “As it would be with another Olesckian, no we aren’t. With one of my people, even several miles apart, we could speak full thoughts telepathically. With Jake, even with him so near it’s more impressions, feelings.” “It’s as close as I’ll ever get to being telepathic, I guess it depends on perspective. We should be telepathic when we commune but we didn’t get to do much of that and than everything blew up.” “This is what you needed to survive, right?” Ryan asked Narin. Narin nodded. “Good, it’d be a shame to loose such a wicked programmer.” “Can I join you?” Jess asked quickly. “For communion, not the bonding.” “It might be possible, I didn’t believe it was possible to commune let alone bond with a human until we came upon it by accident.” Jake held up a hand. “Let’s deal with one thing at a time. After we find your Mr. Hyde we’ll worry about it. Okay?” He waited until Jess nodded. “Now, any word from Daniel?” “None, there’s talk he got sucked out when the dome cracked.” Ryan looked to the pair he’d been working so closely with. “We don’t believe that happened.” “Why?” Narin handed him the visor. “See for yourself.” Jake pulled on the visor and studied the code and programs before his eyes. It twisted in sickening fractural patterns and righted itself in random patterns. “What is this?” “It’s ‘dogs of war’ in a confined system, inside Meg’s to be precise. Or rather, it’s being used as a secondary lock out underneath her original.” “Why’d you put it here?” “I didn’t, Daniel had a copy of ‘dogs’ he was thinking it’s random mayhem might translate well to a firewall. He asked me if he could play with it and I thought he was utterly daft but gave the go ahead. ‘Dogs’ has a running log date if you know how to read it, Jake, it’s only been under her lock out for less than two days.” “This is in the public system?” “No, we’re linked right into the memory drop. Narin just broke into her lock out this morning.” He had to think about this one. “So Daniel is alive and hiding somewhere on the station, he must have cloned Meg’s system and learned what he shouldn’t have but also of the memory drop. Than he what? Holes up and hacks into her lock out in the drop? Why?” “He didn’t have to hack into it, if he had her files he had her triggers.” The lock outs they all used weren’t as simple as password protected, they used multi function triggers to turn them on and off. Sequences so individual, and so random, that it was virtually impossible to crack. “But if he already had her files, why go back in? And why block them again?” “We’ve been talking about it all day, best we can figure is he’s protecting the files, maintaining their security. Than we saw it was more, well, really Jess saw it first.”

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“I was drifting asleep, it was by accident.” “What?” He was too tired to feel this stupid. “’Dogs’ is supposed to be totally random, right?” Ryan waited until Jake nodded. “The version running isn’t. The backdrop it’s twisting up, it’s not from Meg’s system, we found Daniel’s signature mark on it. The ‘dogs’ running over it is repeating a pattern. It looks random, but the distortions run a fourteen part sequence and than land on a letter and it repeats over again. We wrote it out, it says: Jake four south copy waiting mole killer beware.” He pulled on the visor again and watched. “Oh gods, it’s like a Ouija board.” “It’s brilliant, if the message had been shorter it would have been way too easy to spot. He knew we’d get past her lock out and he knew we’d find Ryan’s ‘dogs’ waiting.” Jess shook her head amazed. “Four south has to be the new tunnel, south section, fourth quad, it’s the only places he can be hiding. So either he’s there or a copy of the files is hidden there.” “There’s a problem. The Fleet has figured out to a large degree of certainty that the explosives used in both the lab and the dome came from the stockpile being used to blast the new tunnels. So either Daniel is the killer mole or Mr. Hyde’s been down there snooping around.” “It’s not Daniel and I’m not being sentimental about this.” “She’s being sentimental.” Ryan complained. “No, I’m not, listen, Daniel and I were the ones that reprogrammed the stress indexes on the dome last month. The original fracture dynamics were slipshod and we found that with a few modifications the whole thing could be made three or four times stronger. We’re patenting the idea, anyway, if Daniel was going to blow the dome, one he has no reason to and two, he would have known to use way more explosives. Captain Gore’s already said that if we hadn’t made those modifications the whole thing would have shattered and poof, the station would be swimming in excess vacuum. So it goes to figure Mr. Hyde wasn’t privy to our little improvements.” She folded her arms under her chest and looked smug. “So that leaves only about everybody on the station as a potential Mr. Hyde but you and Daniel.” Narin added for the first time. “Or,” he continued slowly. “Mr. Hyde is either you or Daniel and you didn’t want to blow the dome, just crack it.” “The question is who has reason to kill for something floating around on Meg’s system.” Ryan raised an eyebrow. Jake set his tea down. “Well, we won’t figure that one out until we see what’s in those files.” “You’re going to four south.” Narin’s voice was soft and distant. “Yes, and I’m going alone.” Jess shook her head. “But what about Mr. Hyde? Alone you’ll be vulnerable, he could, well, he could do anything.” “So what are we to do? Hole up here, sit on our hands, cross our fingers that Mr. Hyde thinks those files are gone. Wait for him to kill Daniel, if he hasn’t already, and than wash our hands of the whole mess and go about our lives? The only reason any of us are still breathing is because this fellow thinks we’re in even more of the dark than we actually are and I promise you the moment he thinks we know, whether we do or not, he’ll slit all out throats. Maybe next time he’ll just blow the whole station, that’d promise whatever is here to kill for stays hidden.” He was angry now, but not at them. Ryan’s mother had been a doctor during the occupation and he’d

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worked at her side, Jess had grown up on a farm and had no political involvement. Jake had fought beside his father and uncles during the occupation, he’d been a solider in that war and had been willing to die. He was just as willing now to lay his life between harm and his loved ones. “You don’t really think they’d blow the station?” They’d accepted that the killer had to be one of their own and the idea of one of their own willingly killing them all was more than Jess could understand. “I don’t know, I just know we need those files and we can’t wait until we can crack around the ‘dogs’ lock out.” He stood and winced at the pain in his back. “I have one favor to ask of you both. If something happens to me, don’t panic I’m not expecting trouble, but if something does happen, I want you both to promise me you’ll try to bond with Narin.” The humans sat suddenly in uncertain silence. It was Narin that shook his head. “Jake,” “You stay out of this.” He waggled a finger at Narin. “You know you can bond to a human, if something happens to me don’t be stupid. If you go all unworthy and shy and stupid I swear I will haunt the lot of you. Promise me, all of you.” He extracted their promises before he left, at the door he stopped and offered them a steady smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid. I’m a programmer not a hero.” “See that you remember that!” Jess scolded. Ryan sat in frightened silence. He didn’t like good byes or good lucks. Narin’s expression didn’t change but across the bond came strength and support. it was more than his words could carry. The walk to the access doors that lead to the new sections wasn’t all that far. Jake walked further on a stroll in the gardens but his back was tight and painful before he was halfway there. He was starting to think it was a bad idea, he felt too weak to be doing something as foolish as searching around in unfinished tunnels. Than he thought about Daniel, hiding alone, frightened, his life threatened, waiting for the people he cared about to come and help him and he ignored his pain and pressed on. There were five main access points to the new tunnels. Each door was shut and sealed and more air lock than standard door. The pressure in the work zones was kept thinner than in the station common. Before they finished construction they’d seal the tunnels up and hyper-pressurize them just to see if it would hold a high atmosphere. Once it passed that test the pressure would be equalized, tested and than finally the lock doors would be rolled back into their places in the walls. Hopefully, they’d permanently stay there, they’d only be sealed again if one of the sections of the station had a total breach. With the recent explosions in the gardens, it wasn’t a pleasant thought. He toggled open the door on his side and stepped inside. They’d never bothered installing code locks on the doors, there hadn’t ever been a need to. The only unnecessary trips taken down to the new tunnels were by pairs of lovers looking for a different and unusual place to fool around. They’d seen no need to encourage such behavior by locking the doors. The door behind him had sealed and the air had thinned around him before the door in front of him would open. The sections closest to the locks were almost done of the raw work The rock had been smoothed and leveled, the rooms had been cut and cleaned. Even the spaces in the walls and floor to run air, water and power ducts had been cut and formed. Most of the dirt was cleaned away except for the dust and debris tracked up from deeper below. The work lights shined clearly and the place had an eagerness, a sense of waiting to be fulfilled and used, about

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it. There was promise in these closer rooms and he was proud of his people and their growth. He didn’t wait, the emptiness and silence of the tunnels was rapidly swinging from open promise to oppressive tomb. He set off down to four south and listened with straining ears to catch any sounds of other life down in the tunnels. All too soon he moved to rougher areas, the lighting became less and shortly afterwards, close to the area marked as four south, the lighting became sparse. Jake turned a corner and his shoes crunched from small pebbles and dust to a cold puddle of water. It dripped from the walls in great fat tears of weeping and ran in small rivulets down and across the raw tunnel. It turned the footing slick and treacherous as the ground became slick mud over hard rock. There were small veins of ice in the rock, he knew that and the construction crews had to pause every now and than and let the ice run off and be collected as it melted with the heat and pressure of the atmosphere but it shouldn’t have been anywhere near this much run off. He turned another corner and found, under the dim light, a single mud covered leaf and he understood. Four south run near the south side of the garden. They’d been pumping the water up to a holding tank on the outside of the domed in space. The explosion must have cracked the holding tank, maybe even cracked fissures between the new tunnel and the garden. It occurred to Jake that a body desperate enough or really scared could shimmy along the pumping tubes and travel quickly and unnoticed from tunnel to garden. Or they could until the blast had sealed the small passageway with debris. The water didn’t do anything to ease Jake’s anxiety and he suddenly wished he was armed. The tunnels looked far too much like some net broadcast horror fiction where at any moment a bug eyed monster would leap out and eat the helpless hero. Even the water, pooling and dripping, added an eerie effect. He moved from dim light to deep pools of shadow, past open gaping doors to unfinished rooms and un-carved spaces, never knowing what might be inside and too uneasy to search. Four south was a fair sized section and if he had to search every rough ledge, nook or doorway he’d be down in the mud for days. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, he wasn’t sure if his frayed nerves could handle such a careful search. It was far too dark to check every space and he was cursing his own lack of foresight for not being a lamp with him when a form broke from the shadows just ahead of him. He froze and all the net movies he’d seen suddenly felt real. He was too old to be playing soldier and too tired and in far too much pain. Since he wanted to live to grow older he squinted to try to make out the form and shape and couldn’t the shadows were just to dark. He held still and waited to see what the other person would do and the seconds passed like hours. “Jake? Is it really you?” Daniel whispered out in a hoarse voice. “Daniel, we got your message, are you okay?” He didn’t move from his spot. Daniel stepped a little forward and some of the light fell on him. His face was burned and his one arm was strapped to his body in a sling torn from his shirt. Scratches, bruises and small burns decorated his chest and back. He was dirty and tattered but it was Daniel, he glanced around like a scared rabbit and than motioned Jake over to him. “Lady bless, man, you’re hurt, let me help you.” “No, no!” Daniel scuttled deeper into the shadows of a side tunnel and Jake moved quickly to keep his friend in sight. “You won’t believe it, Jake, you won’t believe what I’ve seen. A real world shouldn’t be like this, a sane world, it’s horrible, horrible.” Jake had a moment of pity and saw the animal like madness in the other man. It was far too

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common during the later days of the virus on Avalon. Some of the Survivors, the ones immune to the earliest mutations, had simply retreated into a baser world of day to day existence, one in which they lamented the past and cursed the present but not really were capable of rational thought. “It’s okay now, Daniel, I’ll see you get help.” He tried to take the man’s arm to guide him back to the inhabited tunnels. “NO!” Daniel roared and pushed Jake away with a violence unfitting his wounds. “He knows I’m hurt, he’s waiting for me to surface so he can cut me into little parts like he did Meg. If I’m going to die, I’m going to make him come here and get me.” “No one’s going to die Danny, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” He laughed bitterly. “Be thankful, be thankful you don’t. If I hadn’t gone to piss, he would have knocked me out and blown me up with the lab. I heard him but I couldn’t risk him seeing me so I hid in there. When I came out there were bombs everywhere and I ran but I had a copy, Jake, I had a copy!” “Why didn’t you come to me?” “Because I couldn’t!” Daniel grabbed at Jake’s shirt and held on with a fevered grasp. “I didn’t know who it was. She knew, Meg knew him and it was in her files but I hadn’t had a chance to see it all. She knew him, don’t you understand, she knew him! How could I come to you, it could have been you, it could have been anyone.” He shuddered in the darkness and than laughed lightly. “It might have been me! So I ran until I could figure out who it was. They almost got me too, they blew up the dome, did you see?” He tapped a finger to the side of his head. “They’re a clever one, evil and clever. They knew I could only hide there or here and they blew it up so I’d have one less place to hide. It was a bit extreme.” He laughed again in nervous humor. “Like, like releasing your Bare Earth virus to have a reason to call into work sick! Nearly killed me too Jake but I knew about the water, I’d been following it. They’ve been down here looking for me but they can’t find me.” “I know Daniel, I know, it’s going to be okay, you trust me right? You left me that message on Meg’s system, remember?” Daniel looked confused for a moment than he nodded. “I stole gear. Did you get my message? Is that why you’re in hell with me? They’ve damned us you know, they’ve damned us all. There are just some doors that shouldn’t be opened.” “Danny, I don’t understand, come back with me, we’ll have some coffee, get something to eat,” “No! You don’t understand?” He asked confused and than nodded. “It’s because I haven’t given you the copy.” He rummaged around his person until he produced the mud covered memory chip. With his good hand he pressed it tightly into Jake’s. “Be careful, it’s my only copy. She didn’t mean to, she really didn’t. Oh God forgive us all!” He moaned and than fell silent, alert as prey about to be struck by a predator. “Daniel?” “Shhhh.” He waved at Jake and cocked his head to the side to listen better. “He’s here, he’s here to kill us both.” Daniel whispered softly. “Who’s here?” Jake asked in hushed tones. “The devil, the mole, the traitor, he’s been the devil all along and none of us have seen his horns. We’ve been so blind!” He suddenly stopped his fearful stance and stood tall. He patted Jake on the shoulder. “He won’t eat you today, I won’t stand for it. Come, come.” He pulled on Jake until he agreed to be led a little ways into the narrow side tunnel. “Down there, go, hide, I’ll lead the devil on a merry chase through our hell.”

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Daniel nearly pushed Jake into the mud and Jake followed because he had no choice. Along the wall was a narrow tunnel, cut for laying more pumping pipes, it was empty and just wide enough to fit a man and barely tall enough. He stopped, unwilling to hide while Daniel was in danger. “Daniel, hide with me.” He shook his head. “No, no no, can’t have that. I’ve given you the angel and you must see it to freedom. Free the angel and stop this horrible devil!” He wiped his hand across his face and seemed for a moment to understand he was mad. “Go, read it, you’ll know what to do.” He pushed again, trying to shove Jake into the muddy hole. Jake nodded and slid into the notch. Daniel moved to the mouth of the side tunnel and crouched down and together they waited. Jake’s heart pounded in his chest and he heard now what Daniel had heard so much sooner. There were careful, slow, foot steps coming down the mud soaked tunnel. Each step made a squishing and than a sucking sound as shoes were placed in and removed from the mud. Daniel waited until the steps weren’t echoing but were loud from closeness before he stood and Jake could only see his feet from his tight, low hiding place. His back ached and his whole body felt sick with fear. “Hey! Devil-man! You’ve come for me but I’m not so easy to kill am I?” Daniel shouted to the tunnel, his voice bouncing wildly off the rock. “I know your evil. You think you killed it but you didn’t, I have a copy of it. I know what it says now and when I get to a terminal I swear the whole universe will know your evil! I’m going to kill you Devil-man, before you can kill me!” Daniel laughed and took off at a run down the main tunnel. Jake lay still in his muddy hole, the water and damp earth chilling the heat from his body. Daniel was singing now, it was a taunting child’s song he’d sung a few times when up to mischief with Meg and the others. There was a moment’s pause when Jake was sure who ever else it was down here stalking around wasn’t going to follow Daniel, they somehow knew he cowered in the mud and that he held the memory chip clutched in his hand. Daniel called again, laughing, taunting his devil and that was the first time he saw the shoes of the man who’d killed Meg. He didn’t have any special knowledge, he was just moving carefully, slowly. Jake watched as he moved with the ease of a predator, searching each main hallway for a trap, taking nothing for granted. When it came to his small side tunnel the man stopped and listened. For a terrorizing moment he hovered within a stones throw of where Jake hid in the shadowed nook. Daniel’s taunting song echoed up from the main passage and with careful movements, their killer continued on his way, stalking his prey. His breath burned in his lungs and Jake hadn’t known he was holding it or for how long. He released it in a careful exhale and started a long, slow count to one hundred. It was difficult not to rush it, he felt pinned down and cornered and wanted to be out of his little hole. It was a good thing he’d come alone, there wasn’t any space to hide another and he knew instantly that Narin wouldn’t have been able to. The tiny, cold, dark airlessness of the tunnel and the duct passage was too much a thing of his own nightmares. He reached one hundred with no frights or discovery and he held his breath to listen. Daniel’s singing was distant now, an echoing will ‘o wisp but he no longer could hear the man’s careful, stalking, movements. Jake slid from the duct, coated in grit and mud, his wound on his back burning under the pressure bandages. He crouched in the darkness of the tunnel and was torn between trying to help Daniel and running for the habitable sections and getting help. It was a memory of how the man following had moved that made up Jake’s mind. He was armed, Jake was certain of it, and he was trained in how to use whatever weapon he carried. He’d checked places of ambush and moved with steady skill instead of hurried panic. Wounded as he was, unarmed as well, Jake wouldn’t be of any help but he knew who would be. He wanted to run to the seal doors and he tried it. The aches spiked to sharp, breath stealing

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pain and he was forced to stagger to a stop and wait for the black spots floating along his vision to fade. He made better time with a forced fast walk than he could with his staggering run but the distance to the exit may as well have been miles, it certainly felt like it was. The doors took a small eternity to cycle and Jake was starting to feel he’d made the wrong choice. What chance did Daniel have against an armed killer? The guilt chewed at him and he cursed his own wounds. Knowing that Daniel had been the only one of them so far to know who the killer was and still stay alive, that he’d wandered the construction tunnels avoiding detection for days, was no comfort at all. He ran down the clean passageways, tracking mud to the closest office. He shoved inside and Amy Robinson squeaked in startled fear. She hopped up and left her research notes scattered about. “Jake! What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the med lab. What’s happened? You’re filthy, were you down in the tunnels? You look awful, can I help you? Should I call the doctor?” The questions tumbled out as she moved to flutter around him in useless help. He found he was breathless and he waved her away. “Console, I need your console.” He gasped out and pushed past her to her computer work station. He dropped into her chair, coating it in mud and grime and his fingers skittered across the access board. When she still hadn’t settled down he lost his temper. “Amy, shut up!” He snapped as the view screen popped into life. “Dr. Ellia? What can I do for you?” Captain Gore didn’t waste any time with the myriad of questions that had plagued Amy. “Captain, does your promise to help however I need it still stand?” “Of course it does.” “Good, I need help. There are two men in the tunnels we have under construction. One is the killer and bomber and the other is one of my programmers. The killer is armed and is trying to catch my man. We have no weapons here Captain,” Jake didn’t even need to finish his sentence, Gore’s eyes flicked to the side and his hand keyed in the orders. “I understand, my people are being dispatched as we speak. Can you send a working map to the tunnels?” “Already on it’s way. Look, my man, he’s hurt, and he’s not all together, he may be combative.” “Don’t worry, doctor, all my people’s weapons are set on capture, not kill.” “Good. Good. I need another favor, the men you have guarding the Olesckian, my programmer, change their orders to allow no one but you or I to enter their rooms. Have the man on duty by Narin’s room keep my programmers inside, they may be in danger.” “Very well, you know who the killer is?” “Not yet but it’s one of our people. Daniel wouldn’t say who but I’ve got proof on me. I’d rather not take any chances.” “Agreed, you’ll keep me up to date on things?” “Yes, of course, as soon as I get to my console and can check these files.” He signed out and tried not to think too hard that the Butcher’s son was the only ally he could trust for help. “Jake?” Amy asked, her flighty tone gone and her face frightened.

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“It’s going to be okay, stay in your office and lock the door after I leave.” He hurried to the door and mustered up a comforting smile from his dirty face, she took his advice and locked it behind him. Thanks to an odd twisting of tunnels, hallways and floors, Jake’s own rooms were closest and he hurried along to reach them. His appearance drew more than a few odd looks but no one tried to stop or speak to him and he reached his rooms with relief, certain he was going to be shot in the back at every twisting turn. There wasn’t any thought to it, as soon as the door was closed behind him, he locked it. From his floor he found a discarded sock and used it to scrub the dirt from the memory chip’s clear surface and than he slid it into the slot on his console. The files on it were encrypted and for a moment he cursed Daniel and his paranoia. Than he saw the encryption was the standard jig saw pattern they used inter-office. The program to put the pieces back together was on his home system and he set it to work. It was going to take time, slow, long drawn out moments so he called Narin’s room and was comforted to see Jess answer. “Jess, Ryan still there?” “Yes, Jake, are you okay?” “Never mind that, you and Ryan, stay put. I’ve the guard at your door keeping anyone from coming or going. I’ve got the files, I’m sending you a copy as soon as I get it unscrambled. It’s one of us, so don’t trust anyone!” He was almost sounding as paranoid as Daniel. “Stay safe!” He tried calling Mabel next but there was no answer at her rooms or at her office. It wasn’t surprising, she was probably in the gardens helping the clean up but he worried. He didn’t like inviting armed Fleet officers on to their station without her knowing. He left messages for her at both places. The program was only half finished so he stripped off his filthy clothes and jumped in the shower. He still felt dirty but the vibe shower did it’s job and got the gunk off of him, the wounds on his back screaming in protest over the rough treatment. There was no time to change the bandages and he pulled on the first clothes that came to hand, a pair of pants, socks, and plain shirt and grabbed his second pair of shoes. As he was tugging the shirt over his head, a task more difficult and painful than removing the dirty shirt had been, the program beeped in happy accomplishment. After checking the lock on the door, Jake keyed a copy sent to Narin’s system and pulled on his visor to see just what was worth all the pain and death and who among them was capable of it. The answer to the who was top most in the files, it was the last thing added to Meg’s system. They had been right, she’d known she was in danger and had recorded what was said in those last moments. Jake knew the voice but he didn’t want to believe it. “No, really, I didn’t call anyone. Sorry you ran all the way down here.” “No troubles than, what are you working on, I thought you were going to save me a dance at the party?” He heard Meg’s voice grow unsteady. “I will save you a dance.” “What are you working on, Meg?” “Nothing, just finishing work.” “I don’t think it’s work, is it?”

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Meg laughed a little bit but there was a nervous edge to it. “Caught me, it’s a surprise.” “Indeed it is, you know you shouldn’t go snooping around Concord Science System computers.” “How did you know?” She whispered in fear. “I like you Meg, but I know what you’ve done. Do you think we’ll have you arrested?” “We?” “You’ve read the files haven’t you?” The voice grew sharp and angry and Meg squeaked in fear. “Of course you have. Noisy uppity Avalon half wits, you’ve no fear of consequences and you wander where you shouldn’t go. I’m sorry Meg, I’m really sorry.” Jake heard a startled, frightened cry but Meg never begged, she never pleaded. She was from Avalon. “This won’t end with me, the others, they’ll know.” She gasped out. “They’ll see all about what your Concord Frankenstiens are doing, this won’t end with me Ben!” Her voice twisted off in pain and Jake had to stop the recording. His heart pounded in his chest and he was torn between fear and anger. All at once the why didn’t matter as much but he pulled up the files, searching while at the same time he broke into Dr. Taylor’s personal computer system. Meg’s last project was glaringly obvious, she’d been trying to hack into the sealed computer system of a small private research station in the Zeta Gorlish system, it took Jake a moment to understand that Mercy’s current assignment from the Psi Gaurd was in the Zeta Gorlish system. It was a good bet that Meg was hacking into that stations system. He could guess why, she’d asked Daniel’s help with a broadcast system, she’d been planning to allow them their own all access pass to watch what happened. The foundations were in her system already, she’d been hooking their view screens up to the station security cameras, of which there was a surprisingly high number. It must have occurred to her as it did to Jake that the computer systems were a little too advanced for such an out of the way station and the security a bit too tight. Meg had been like them all, curious as a cat and unable to not snoop, it was in the Avalon genetic code. So she’d dug around, copied files and learned a truth that was horrible. Every programmer knew that there were some files, some systems you didn’t want to mess with. Not because their technological security was so advanced but because the information contained within wasn’t meant to be seen out side of a very small community. Track back programs were a worry, yes, but people that paranoid had far more aggressive human security. Jake read the files and felt the hairs on his neck stand up and than he saw just who owned the little, out of the way, private research center and his blood chilled. He sat for a moment, safely locked in his room and he understood Meg’s paranoia and Daniel’s as well. Unlike them, he wasn’t shocked or surprised at what was really going on at that distant station, or of who operated it. Instead, he wanted to know more and the anger slipped into cold rage. Ben Taylor’s private system cracked open. He’d found and locked out the backdoor Jake had into all of the stations computer systems but again, the program was canned, unoriginal and not too difficult to shut down. Jake ransacked the man’s files and logs and found nothing contrary to the face he presented to them every day. There were no sealed sectors or hidden looped files and if Ben was who Jake assumed he was, there should be something. It left only one conclusion, Ben had been smart enough to store his private information on a closed, independent system. Most likely it was a notepad carry all, it would look like something

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common place and draw no notice. Jake had helped design such computer systems in the past and if he’d had anything to hide, that’s how he’d go about it. The only way to access that system was to physically have the notebook and that meant a trip to visit the good doctor.

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Heroes & Ghosts: Outpost Section Five

Halfway to Ben’s room Jake was sure that this hadn’t been one of his more clever plans. He suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable but there was no time to waste on thinking of a better course of action. Ben was still, hopefully, down in the tunnels chasing after Daniel and maybe being chased himself. If he managed to slip away and had any doubts his identity may not be as secure as he thought any files or evidence in his rooms would be the first to go. He couldn’t stand for that, not after all that had happened. Ben’s door was locked, Jake over rode the lock and the door opened. The doctor’s room was slightly larger than Jake’s, there was a small sofa with an end table and lamp. The man’s bed was a double and the room was larger to accommodate the reading area and the larger sleeping space. The doctor’s interest in the female station members had been more active and more interested than Jake’s own, it was a subject of much gossip over the years. Both his own solitude and the doctor’s flirtations and now the sight of the larger bed just made Jake angry. There was neither the time nor any desire in him to be careful or gentle. He tore into the room, turning drawers out and dumping the contents on the floor. Everything on the shelves was tossed into the pile and the shelves themselves were searched. There had to be a hidden compartment or space, something, somewhere and Jake searched thoroughly for it. The last place he looked was the man’s chest at the foot of the bed. Every room had one, it was an Avalon tradition. The religious stored seasonal ritual items in theirs, most stored blankets, private mementos, anything private that wasn’t required too often. Jake’s held extra computer gear and stacks of memory chips of old programs they’d coded. Ben’s had a few mementos and a layer of blankets, below the bottom blanket was the notebook Jake had been searching for. Beside it lay a dark case, he popped the latches and opened it. In the padded and secure interior were slots for weapons, small side arm guns and a few blades. All were in place but one and he knew instantly where that weapon was. His interest was in the notebook not the weapons and while he knew he should take it and the case and go, the programmer in him studied it right where he was kneeling by the chest. The door opened behind him and he jumped, startled and cursed himself for closing the case of weapons. It wasn’t Ben standing in the doorway but Mabel. “Jake, what the hell are you doing?”

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“Mabel, you scared me half to death!” “What’re you doing?” “It’s Ben, the killer, is Ben.” The words spilled out and he turned back to the notebook. “It’s worse, he’s Flossin Guard and the station Mercy is being sent to,” he added up the time and felt a new fear. “The one she’s at now, is a Flossin Gaurd research facility. They’ve been doing experiments with the Demons, she’s going to be slaughtered.” “Jake, you’re not making any sense. The Flossin Guard was disbanded ninety years ago after that Hewlin Assassination scandal. It’s just a bunch of conspiracy nonsense.” “It’s not nonsense, Meg stumbled into it by mistake. Ben killed her for it and he’s been trying to destroy what she found out since. Look here, I’ve a file notebook of Ben’s and a case full of weapons. It’s not nonsense. We’ll know more when we break into this system.” There came from behind him a high pitched whine of a magnetic slug weapon charging. “You can’t crack into that system, it’s retinal and thumbprint. You should have left it alone, Jake.” Mabel apologized. He turned slowly and his face fell. The gun was small and barely larger than her hand but a mag slug could rip a head clean off a man’s shoulders at such close range. “Aw, Mabel.” “I’m sorry but things have to be done. Where’s the copy?” “I’m not going to tell you.” She sighed. With a flick of her wrist the gun pointed for a moment at Jake’s leg and she fired. The setting was low and the slug hit with far less force than it could have but it still tore a large chunk from his leg and the bone splintered. Jake cried out and instinctively wrapped his hands around the wound. “Bloody hell, Mabel!” “The copy Jake and who else besides you and Daniel know?” “Everyone’s seen it.” He hissed in pain. “You’re a poor liar, I’m glad you didn’t show it to anyone, where’s the copy.” “I’ll not tell you.” She shot his other leg. He recoiled from the pain and shock. “We can do this for hours. The mag slugs cauterize the wound mostly, you won’t bleed to death, I promise you that. I can break those legs into powder this way, than we’ll start on your arms, your hands will never be quite the same again, I’ll blow your fingers clean off. Than, well, no one’s ever not told me what I wanted to know after that. The pain is tremendous. Tell me what I want to know and it won’t hurt any more.” “I’ll never tell you.” He gasped out and prepared for the next slug. “He’s right you know, he’s from Avalon and they’re stubborn sons of bitches.” Mabel turned at the new voice and found Captain Gore in the door way, his side arm drawn and aimed at her. Jake swung with the notebook and cracked it with force against her hands, her wrist broke with a sickening sound and the small gun flew out of reach. Captain Gore moved quickly and pressed a sedative charge against Mabel’s neck. Her eyes rolled up and she dropped, half falling on Jake’s broken legs. He cried out in pain and pushed her off. “Lady bless I never thought I’d be happy to see you. How’d you know to come?”

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“Your Olesckian, Cardel’soli Narin, he was frantic to get one of our people here and since all the people I can spare are in your tunnels, I came myself.” He bent down and quickly got flexi cuffs on the unconscious woman, the soft material formed around her wrists and ankles and quickly sealed. “Here, we need to get you to the doctor.” Jake laughed, his body was feeling clammy and sick and he knew shock was setting in. “I don’t recommend the doctor, here, help me. If they’re working together maybe she’ll be able to unlock the system.” With Gore’s help the computer accepted Mabel’s retinal scan and thumb print. It unlocked and sat ready for use. “Here, interface this and dump the contents into the system.” “What’s going on?” “Ben, Mabel too I guess, they’re Flossin Guard.” “Impossible, they don’t exist.” Jake leaned back against the trunk and was feeling light headed. “Apparently they do. Oh, gods, I don’t want to die here.” “You’re not going to die.” Gore snapped back and left the notebook dumping it’s contents into the central computer. He knelt at Jake’s side and took his hand. “You’re from Avalon, you’re too stubborn to die.” That made Jake laugh bitterly, because they had died, by the thousands. This felt like he was dieing, and he wasn’t ready. He’d never imagined he’d be unwilling to die, so much had been lost, he’d never feared his own turn. In some ways, he’d been waiting for it as much as Narin had but now, as his body was getting chilly and slowing down, he didn’t want to go. “How absurd.” He muttered and Gore took it to be in answer to his comment not the internal struggle Jake was fighting. “I’ve sent for the med techs, just hang on, they’ll be here soon.” The notebook exploded on the table, fragments shattered everywhere. Both men looked up from where they sat on the floor and saw Ben standing in the door way. He stepped into the room and pulled the door shut behind him. “Unfortunately, for you both the techs won’t arrive soon enough.” His shoes and the legs of his pants were muddy and spots of dirt and grime covered his person. Carefully, he bent down and scooped up Mabel’s mag slug gun and than paced a little bit away from them. “I really wish you hadn’t dumped our notebook into the central system. What is it with you people, can’t you leave well enough alone?” “How could you? Meg was your friend.” Jake gasped out, his body shivering now and that was never a good sign. “It had to be done, you programmers think you can go anywhere. You’re a liability. You’re the one that’s condemned everyone. If you’d left well enough alone, Daniel would be dead, the copy would be in my hands and Narin would have been put down cleanly. He might even have thanked me, the death he’s facing isn’t a pleasant or easy one. But no, no, you had to stick your nose in. She said you knew more than you were letting on, said to wake you up and sure enough off you went. Now, things are so much more complicated. I actually liked it here.” He shook his head in sadness and than the mag slug went off again, this time at it’s higher intensity. Mabel’s head exploded, partially vaporized from the force of the slug’s impact. Gore started from the sound and the impact but Jake had heard and seen such before. He shivered under a double image of his mother’s death and the first and last time he’d begged for his life. “Mabel did it huh?”

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Ben shrugged. “It’s going to be difficult to explain to my superiors but yes.” “How difficult is it to say I popped her head off while she was unconscious, unarmed and restrained?” Gore asked dryly. Jake chuckled grimly at that. “I’m starting to actually hate you less, Gore.” “Shut up!” “Let me guess,” Jake shivered again. “She killed Meg and Daniel, blew up the lab and the dome and oh, us two as well but lucky you, the techs arrived in time to save you.” “Something like that.” “And than what? You leave and the whole station goes boom?” “Maybe.” With that he swung his own side arm, a compact and efficient needle gun, toward Jake and fired. He tensed waiting for the impact when he saw the movement but none came. Gore had thrown his body across Jake’s and the needle hit and shattered into his side. There was a wet, sucking sound as the needle released it’s charge and Jake had a clear look at the startled pain in the Fleet Captain’s eyes. “Very brave, I give you high marks.” Ben sighed and aimed again but stopped before he fired. He shook his head and winced before aiming again only now he flinched and ducked his head, his hand coming up to his temple. Jake felt it, buzzing along his nerves but he didn’t understand what he was seeing or feeling. Ben batted about his head as if trying to disturb an annoying insect and his breath was rushing in short, frightened gasps. “I won’t, I won’t!” He hissed out between clenched teeth before he shook himself all over and forced his body to stand straight and tall. The gun swung out again but this time it took a full arc and ended along the side of his head. He locked eyes with Jake for a second. “Damn you!” He hissed and the gun went off. Almost before Ben’s body was settled on the floor the door to the hallway opened. Jake squinted at the tall form. “Narin?” He asked but as the man moved into the room it wasn’t him. Flick bent down beside them, one of the other men of his bond group joining them and the rest hovering outside. With careful attention they lifted Gore’s weight off of Jake and eased him down, Gore was unconscious but breathing and Jake stared in wide eyed shock at the blood, bodies and the pale, silent Olesckians. “Why,” He shook his head and thought he might be sick. “Why’d you make him do that?” Flick’s face went mournful. “We didn’t, we were trying to compel him to lay down his arms. It was his choice to end his life, we fought him for it and we lost. Your human minds are too strange. Rest easy, help is almost here.” “But, why, how did you even know?” Flick’s eyes met with the other Olesckain before he answered Jake. “You are the bondmate to an Olesckian, your distress and pain was difficult to miss. Your bondmate’s been near frantic and screaming for help. We aided you because you are a good man, for a human, and even if we think it foolishness what you’ve done, it is done. And Captain Gore has been gracious and kind to us and did not deserve to die when it was in our power to offer aid. Now, rest, your wounds are

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grave. We can speak of it later.” Jake let his body fall back against the chest, one hand holding the wound on his thigh lightly. It was too much, he was fading and he felt himself sinking away. Flick slid a hand on his shoulder and he felt the supporting strength of the man and the group he was bound to. “Rest but do not diminish.” He said and Jake slipped into darkness as a flurry of med techs arrived. Jake awoke with a gasp and a hand gently steadied his shoulder. He looked up and stared into Janet’s steady but worried eyes. “Where am I?” “Where you should have been this whole time, in the med lab. How do you feel?” “Awful.” He let his body sink back into the support of the bed. His back was a mass of sore, throbbing muscles and his legs were distantly numb. Each one was encased in a mending cast. They sent little buzzy feelings along his nerves and he knew instantly that he should still have been in empty blackness. There was a reason why doctors kept people out while their gadgets and gizmos knitted bone. “Good, you’ll stay in bed this time.” She scolded as she checked over his vitals. “You’re at the end of your rope, Jake, your body can’t take much more of this. By all rights, you should still be in a coma but they said it was important.” “They? Where’s Gore? And Daniel, someone needs to find him.” “Easy, one thing at a time. Captain Gore should live, he’s still in surgery. His med techs are doing it but we’ve had to call in a net surgeon, he’s in bad shape but they think he’ll live. As to they, I mean Ryan and Jess, with you and Gore out cold and Mabel dead.” Her words shook a little. “Well, they’ve sort of taken over and they’re insisting you had to be brought around as soon as we could. I don’t understand what’s going on but they seemed certain so I did it.” “Good, how long was I out?” “Only an hour or two and if I let them in and you so much as scratch without permission I’ll drop you back out. Do you understand me?” He nodded and she stepped away from his bedside. Soon he was surrounded by Jess, Ryan and Narin and with a frightened, uncertain look, Janet left the room. “Hey.” He greeted weakly. “Did you get the files out of the central system?” Ryan nodded. “We did, we’re sort of in a holding pattern right now, we weren’t sure what to do with it until we could speak with you.” “Daniel?” He shook his head. “Dead, Gore’s people found him in one of the tunnels, he’d been strangled.” “Oh Lady have mercy, I should have gone and helped him.” Jess leaned in toward him and took his hand. “No, you did what he wanted, you’ve seen those files, you know this is bigger than any of us. You would have died too.” He just shook his head. “We need to warn Mercy.” “We’ve been trying but she’s out of reach and her ship’s in lock out.” The answer to both their problems was in the same man. “We’ll call Richard Morris, he’ll have a line to Mercy and the Psi Guard has too much power and security for the Flossin Guard to merely make disappear.”

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There were very few people out side of active members of the Psi Guard who could directly reach Richard Morris and the large number of the names on the list were from Avalon. Of the thirty two active psychics in the offices employ, fourteen were from Avalon or were citzens of Avalon. Jake had to wait a few moments while the call routed, his security clearances were checked and for Morris to be free to take the call but with very little fuss the screen blinked on and Mr. Richard Morris appeared. “Jake, you look awful. Still having troubles?” Richard Morris was no stronger of a psi than Jake himself was and some of the less sensitive aspects of his nature made it easier to deal with the moods, whims and egos of the higher psi’s that did the dirty work. He was pushing his late middle age, softening a little around the middle and his hair was thinning. As of yet, he’d elected to let it thin and it’s salt and pepper grey only made him look more reserved. The man’s face had always reminded Jake of a basset hound, with drooping jowls or sometimes, the round oval and sunken eyes called to mind the wide face of an owl but the man’s eyes were the dark, flat stare of a shark and he gave nothing away with them. “No, it was as we spoke of. Look, Mr. Morris, we’re in a spot of trouble here and so is Mercy. We need your help.” There as no pause for thought, no hesitation. “What ever I can do, you know I will.” “Thank you. I need the direct line connection to Mercy’s ship. I have to speak to her without delay.” He shook his wide, round face. “I’m sorry Jake, that’s a dedicated, secure line. You couldn’t use it from your location even if I told you what you wanted to know.” Jake felt Ryan grinding his teeth in frustration beside him. “Look, I know you’re trying to protect her, but in the last three days I’ve lost five of my crewmen, two of which were my programmers, my lab’s computers were wiped and than set on fire. I’ve been blown up and had my spine severed and had both my legs broken from being shot with mag slugs. I know you care about her but my time and patience is gone. She will die unless we can speak to her right away. Now, cut the bullshit, we both know my people can get that line to open for us from here. Save us the time and make it easier.” Morris frowned but his shark dead eyes never flinched. “Very well, I’m transmitting it. If she’s upset at this, she can yell at you, I’m not going to listen to it.” “If she’s still alive when this is over with she can yell at me all she wants.” Jake transferred the information directly to Ryan and Jess and knew they’d get right to it. “Was there anything else?” “Actually, yes. We’ve stumbled into a hornets nest here. What do you know about the Flossin Guard?” Morris shrugged. “A secret ops branch of the Fleet about a hundred years ago, they were disbanded but a lot of conspiracy folks think they’re still around and every death of a public figure or random disaster is blamed on them.” “Well, we’ve proof they weren’t disbanded. I need you to hold these files, I don’t care if you read it just don’t act on it yet. We haven’t had a chance to consult with the Fleet Captain in dock here, I just don’t like sitting on the only copies. If this station blows up, I’ll need you to take care of it for me. Will you help us?” Jake held his breath, if someone he barely knew asked him to do what he’d just asked Morris he’d laugh in their faces.

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Morris didn’t laugh. “Mercy thinks very highly of you so I know this isn’t some joke. If you have what you say you have,” his voice trailed off. “I’ll take those copies but I’d advise finding at least a secondary holder as well, in case this office goes up in smoke too.” “We will, thank you for doing this.” “You’re welcome, I don’t need to tell you the line is secure, your people programmed it.” Jake keyed it all up and zipped it away, suddenly feeling a thousand times better as the transmission ticked off it’s progress in rapid order. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we can, things have been a bit hectic. If we don’t reach Mercy, you need to read those files and contact her.” Morris nodded agreement. “I’ll try but I’m sure you’ll get through, she’s up to her eyeballs in trouble on this job but last I saw all of them were still alive.” His eyes started scanning the files he was receiving. “Oh my.” He whispered and fear slipped into his dark eyes. “That was our reaction too. We’ll be in touch, be careful, Mr. Morris.” He nodded absently. “You too, you too.” Jake broke the line. “How’s it going getting into her ship’s system?” Ryan shrugged and Jess sighed and pulled off her visor. “We’re gong to need Narin’s help with this, the ship, it’s advanced. The computer isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen.” Narin agreed and pulled on his gear. Jake ignored the set they’d brought for him and chose instead to close his eyes and rest. There were mumbled comments shared around and a few frustrated groans. “The computer’s alive.” Narin whispered and he was startled enough that Jake opened his eyes and stared at the trio. “What do you mean the computer is alive?” “Jake, it’s, I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like this.” Ryan pulled off his visor and rubbed his eyes. “Alive is as good a word as any, it’s not a matter of just tapping into the line, the code, it’s moving, fluid, I don’t know.” “It’s alive.” Narin whispered again. “Computer code can’t be alive.” Jake reminded them, programmers too often got sentimentally attached to their work. “All the AI projects dead end before sentiency. Ryan you wrote a paper on the limitations of the artificial intelligence systems.” “I know I did, it’s not artificial, it’s like someone coded life, it’s organic looking. I don’t know how to explain it and I don’t know how we’ll tap into it.” “Ryan, Jake, look at this.” Jess whispered and motioned with a vague hand for them to put their visors back on. Jake pulled the visor on and was awed. The code wasn’t wrapped in double layers, he saw no less than six. It moved and almost danced in mock imitation of the restless tides of breath and flowing river of blood in veins. He saw why Ryan said it felt organic, it’s patterns and rhythms felt like life. From a distance, the code moved in unison, everything working as one object, toward one goal but when he looked closer it was the life of a hive of bees or a nest of ants. Thousands of tiny independent living things working as one. It stole his breath, he knew Mercy’s ship computer was advanced, he’d advised her on what hardware to buy, but this code was more

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advanced than anything he’d seen even in theory. It wasn’t the complexity of the code that had Jess calling them to watch but what Narin was doing. He was coding in the same six level pattern, something that shouldn’t have been possible and his code was like a song. There was harmony and balance, melody and rhythm and with every beat a dozen changes, dozen different notes spun across his code. With each change the spell Narin was weaving moved him a little closer to getting the breathing code of the ship’s computer to allow them to open a line to it. The humans watched in awed silence, watched as he got close and than fell far back as the ship’s code changed pattern. Narin followed it and built his pattern again and slowly his work integrated. The connection formed with an almost audible click and Narin slumped forward, he pulled the visor off and rubbed hard at his eyes, tears forming in them from how long he stared unblinkingly at his work. The effort had left him dizzy and a little light headed. “How did you do that?” Jess asked. “That’s not even supposed to be possible.” Narin shrugged. “Someone had to code it originally in six layers, so it has to be possible. Are we connected?” Ryan check the link and nodded, and than frowned. “I’m getting an audio.” He put it on the console’s speakers when no one protested. A voice cut into the silence singing in soft whispery tones to itself. It broke into humming in distraction and than cut back into the soft lullaby. “No matter why or where, I’ll always be near, so long as you hold my memories dear.” The voice sang gently and sighed before going on to hum a bit more. Jake paled visibly and Narin felt the sudden shock that rushed across him. He made sure the audio was still one way before he spoke. “May I have a moment alone?” “Jake?” Narin asked, worried at the sudden change. “It’s okay, Mercy just programmed her ship to be a little more personal than we thought. I’ll get it to help us, but I need to talk to it alone. Please.” “The ship is singing?” Ryan asked and shook his head. “That’s absurd.” “That’s the lullaby my mother used to sing me, the one Colin used to sing to Mercy. If she programmed the voice interface to have some of his traits, I’ll be able to work with it but, please, alone?” He hadn’t even thought of that song in years and hearing it now cut like a knife. His friends understood and with nods and careful pats on his shoulder in support, they piled out of the room. Jake lay there and listened to the voice hum and sing to itself and steadied his nerves before he clicked on the two way audio. “You’ve a fine singing voice.” The ship fell suddenly silent in mid word. “I know you’re a verbal interface, I helped Mercy pick out the hardware you live in. You might as well speak to me, I need your help.” The silence was total, there was no sound at all from the other end for long moments and Jake checked to make sure the link was still open. At last the ship spoke, uncertain at first. “How’d you?” It faded away. “I know how you got in, you used the home office line but how’d you write six layers of code so seamlessly?” The voice grew stronger and steady.

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It chilled Jake, Mercy had even programmed it to sound like Colin, his tone and inflection. He reminded himself his brother was dead and this was just a very well made machine. “One of my friends is an Olesckian, he’s a programmer.” “The shunned lorekeeper?” The ship asked instantly. “Yes, how’d you hear of that?” “I hear of a lot of things. I know who you are.” The voice reflected emotion and it wavered on fear and longing. “You’re Jacob Ellia.” “Yes I am.” “It’s a pity about the Olesckian, any being that can code in integrated six layers shouldn’t die of something as stupid as a shunning. It’ll be a great loss when he passes on.” “He was impressed with your code, we all were.” The ship snorted a little. “So you break into my systems to tell me how wonderful I am. I’m honored.” The words, the voice were so Colin that he could almost see his brother, his light brown hair grown out too long and shaggy, his hazel eyes roving and distant, distracted too easily by the depths of his psychic skills and the horrible things he’d seen growing up during the occupation. The same mocking sarcasm and stubborn opinions. “You’re programmed after my brother, aren’t you?” He asked, needing to know how aware the computer was of who it was modeled after. There was another long pause and when the voice spoke it was tight and almost choked with emotion that no computer could feel. “Yeah, in a manner of saying I was.” “I don’t understand your answer.” Any basic computer system would respond to that statement with a more detailed explanation and Jake wanted more details. “It doesn’t matter. Look, you’re trespassing, why?” “Computer, give me a detailed description of your creation, including who coded you and what models were used.” It was a direct command and Jake waited, wondering if someone else from Avalon had finished the system for Mercy. “I’m not so easily ordered around. I can’t imagine you went to this kind of efforts just to be a pain in my ass so tell me what you want or I’m cutting the connection.” The ship answered peevishly. Jake’s blood went cold and his heart twisted up in his throat. It couldn’t be, it just couldn’t be, could it? Was it possible? “Colin?” He whispered into the empty room. “Is it really you?” “Colin’s dead.” The ship answered with the same hushed whisper. “Please, tell me what you are, you’re not just a computer. This is cruel, are you my brother?” It wasn’t just cruel it was insane. “Tell me!” He snapped and felt tears slip from his eyes, the grief of Colin’s death suddenly sharp again. The ship was silent and after a pause spoke softly back. “I’m flying between the stars, Jakey.” The sob that slipped from his throat shook his whole body and was answered with aches and pains from his wounds. “Colin, it is you isn’t it?”

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“Lady bless, Mercy’s going to kill me. Yeah, it’s me Jakey, it’s me.” The voice sighed. “Oh gods, how? I held you when you died, you’re dead, how?” “I can’t answer that, I won’t, we promised never to speak of it. Jake, she’s got no one, I promised her I’d always look out for her, we vowed it, there was power in that. When I died, I was still with her. Anyway, she built this ship and the computer got so advanced it was capable of having me move in, so here I am.” His voice made it sound so common place, so normal. “It’s what I wanted, I won’t stay for ever. Don’t be mad at Mercy, she had little choice in it and it was my idea to not tell anyone. I don’t relish the idea of the Fleet taking me apart to try to learn how to duplicate me.” The explanation was so like Colin when he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing that Jake was struck dumb. “Well, say something? I don’t have a visual on you.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” It was a sudden and bitter hurt. “I didn’t want to hurt you again. I didn’t think you’d understand and I wanted you to have a chance to mourn and move on. I’m not all that I was as your brother and in some ways I’m more than before. I wanted you to have a chance to have a life and not be stuck in a limbo of my half life, always connected and reminded of the past. And, I didn’t know how to tell you. I wouldn’t have now if you’d not caught me so moody and worked up. Ever, Mercy’s apprentice, has been badly hurt, they’re locked down and I don’t have any way of helping them. I mean I don‘t like him, he‘s an arrogant bastard but Mercy‘s found of him so I guess he‘s okay.” The worry was clear. Jake held up a hand and knew the ship couldn’t see him. “Wait, are you or aren’t you my brother.” “I was once your brother, Colin died, is dead. I’m the ship Finnigan now, does that make any sense to you? I remember being Colin but it’s as if I was reborn as this computer, the experience is vast.” “Do you consider me your brother?” It was a question he had to ask, like a child picking at a scab, it hurt but he couldn’t help it. “I will always consider you my brother.” The warmth and love trembled in the voice. “You’ve been hurt, are you okay? Mag slugs in your legs, spinal regeneration a few days ago, what are you doing? Are you okay?” “How’d you know that?” “I’m a computer you moron.” The ship mocked with all of Colin’s annoying charm. “I’m back streaming your connection, your Olesckian does dandy work, and I’m reading the computer console system, it’s a med lab one so I pulled up your file. What’s happened?” That shook a lot of the confused grief off of Jake. “Colin, we can’t talk now, there’s more than you’d believe and I don’t have time to explain.” “I’m not Colin, call me Finn. I’m Finn now. You don’t need to explain just tell me what you need.” His mind trembled with the idea, his brother was a computer, a computer and all their trouble lay in computer files. “Hang on, can you quick read a file?” “With both legs and arms tied behind my back and blind folded to boot.” Jake pulled up the files and set them on the med lab console’s computer. “I am not going to

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touch that six layer code, the files are in the med lab console I’m using, read them.” There was maybe a ten of fifteen second pause which, Jake figured was a very long time for a computer and more than just the time needed to read some files. “This is very, very bad.” “It’s led to an interesting week here too. Can you get word of this to Mercy?” “No, normally yes but this is too complex to tell her with a data transfer and I can’t use voice with Tina Stemple around. Gog, the camera man, he’s good folk but Tina’s a cow. Oh this is very bad. I wondered why the computer system had been totally wiped clean, your people must have slipped in while they were finishing the clean up. Mercy’s actually found people dead at their work stations, what ever was on the system was worth destroying more than saving their life. Look, I can patch you to her, you’re going to have to explain this to her but be careful, the cameras are still with them recording everything. It’s all going live to a Inside Lives’ hub right now so if you let any of the cats out of their bags, everyone will know. I’m not sure I’d give Inside Lives the scoop about the Flossin Gaurd but than Tina’s lucky I haven’t burped her into vacuum yet. Nauseating woman. I’ll keep a copy here, I assume Morris has one too? He’s a good choice, tough old bird that one, like a stringy vulture.” “Colin!” Jake’s final nerves frayed and snapped. “Finn.” The ship corrected. “Finn, Colin, Finn, whatever, shut up!” There was a hurt silence and than a low, warm chuckle. “You’ve not changed a bit, Jake, not one bit. You used to always tell me to shut up when I was rambling. I always ramble when worried. I’m patching you through, just, don’t mention me, okay?” Jake nodded. “I think I understand, I’m bringing my people in. I don’t know that any one would believe me if I tried to tell them.” He called them back into the room with a touch of a few buttons on the console. The new truth of this revelation wasn’t one that he felt could be easily explained, he didn’t know if he fully believed it. It was still more likely that Mercy had programmed the ship’s computer to think, respond and act like Colin. Until he could have a private chat with her that was how he was viewing the situation. There was no way to keep the truth from Narin, the man was already worried and tense from the revival of Jake’s grief. “I got the ship to patch us through to Mercy.” Almost as soon as he finished explaining the audio clicked and buzzed and then Mercy’s voice filtered over. “No, no, I don’t care what he looks like, he’s better off hibernating for a bit, he’ll heal quicker, just leave him be. In fact, this is as safe as we’re likely to get for a while, you may as well rest yourself.” Her voice was lively and strong but there was tension and worry under it. “Mercy?” Jake called out and the background sounds hushed and Mercy stopped speaking. “Mercy, can you hear me?” “Jake? Jake Ellia is that you?” She was confused now. “Yeah, baby doll, it’s me, I’m routed through your ship.” “As delighted as I am to always hear from you, I’m really a bit too busy at the moment to talk. I’m working.” Her tone was as plain and common as if she’d said simply she was baking pies today and had no time to sit and gossip over tea. It make Jake grin. “I know, I’d imagine you’re in a pickle too. I won’t keep you but we stumbled on some information you need if you’re going to make it out alive. I can come back later if you

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want? We can discuss it at a more convenient time.” He echoed her own nonchalance. “We are in a pickle here, Jake, sorry, I know you’d not call if it weren’t important. What do you have?” “That station wasn’t conducting genetic mutation experiments.” “We’ve already figured that much out. The equipment’s all wrong.” “Yeah, well, what you don’t have is their computer files, I do. They’ve created a way to open artificial dimensional rifts. They’ve been deliberately sucking in beasties from the other side. They thought they had a containment system but the things a monstrosity, it was bound to blow up sooner or later and the mess you’re in is proof it was sooner not later. Unfortunately, the rifts are still being opened mechanically and with that machine still running, every time you seal a hole it’s just going to pick it back open again. Worse, they were doing some pretty ugly tests on the Demons, I’d imagine they are a tad annoyed now that they’re free to run around.” Mercy laughed with no amusement. “Yeah, you could say that. So I’m in deeper trouble than I thought. Good thing I made out a will, huh, Gog?” Jake shook his head. “Yeah, you’re in trouble, baby doll, but don’t lay down just yet. Jess here has come up with a way to jerry rig the containment. It might not hold long but you should be able to make safe areas that don’t require your own strength. We transferred the method to your ship’s system, it’s smart and will walk you through it.” There was an uncertain pause. “You’ve been in Finn’s system?” “Don’t sweat it, we didn’t muck up the place but I saw some interesting variations I’d like to sit down and discuss with you one day. Nothing serious but you gotta live through this first.” “Deal. So jerry rig the containment and get the hell off this rock?” “Not that simple, shut down the rift tearing do hickey and you can clean the mess up. Other wise, well, I’m just a programmer not a theorist or a physicist but it can’t be good to be shredding bigger and bigger holes like this thing is.” “The end of the world as we know it?” He grinned. “Naw, we’ve already seen that. You’ve the files now, you’ll be fine.” “Thank you, Jake.” Her voice wavered a little. “Things were looking a little bleak here, these beasties aren’t like anything I’ve seen. Ever’s hurt, really bad too, it’d be fatal if he were human. He says it’s just a scratch but he’s hibernating and they don’t hibernate unless they’re bad off. It wasn’t looking good, Jake, I thought, well,” “I know baby doll, I know, but you know what to do now.” “I know, never give up.” She sniffled loudly and drew in a breath, he could almost picture her wiping tears she refused to shed from her eyes. “Alright baby doll, I need to go. When you get that mess straightened out, swing by our way. We’ll take a holiday together, maybe go home for a bit. Sound good?” “Yeah, it does.” “Good, I’ll hear from you soon.” “As soon as I can.”

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“I’ll be waiting, sweety, just hang in there.” “Jake, thank you.” “Welcome.” The line cut off and Jake had a feeling it wasn’t just the feed to Mercy but the whole connection to the ship. “She must be stressed, she didn’t tell you to shove off for calling her baby doll once.” Ryan looked as glum as they all did. “She needed to hear it.” “Oh, if I were only more of a psi, I hate not being able to do more for her!” Jess sighed and frowned. “We’ve done all we can. She and that Tor’sal’dorn have nearly two hundred points between them. and now, thanks to us and Meg and Daniel, they know what the truth is and how to fight. Worse case is she pulls them back to that ship, they rest up and tackle it again but the worst case before us was she’d be killed. You’ve made me proud.” He spoke sincerely and it touched them. “Thanks Jake.” Ryan murmured. “What should we tell everyone? They’re asking questions.” Jess didn’t like the idea of being in charge, it didn’t sit well on her shoulders. “Tell them Ben and Mabel were plants and they killed Meg and Daniel and arranged the explosions. Tell them they’ll know more soon and that for now things are safe but we’re still in danger. Put out orders that if any ship, authorized or not, comes anywhere near us to alert me instantly. Ask everyone to hold tight for another day.” He suddenly felt as tired as he should have been and he sank bonelessly into the bed. “Tell them we helped Mercy, and Ryan get the broadcast going in the Dive, catch everyone up. Than you three, go and get some rest.” There were final words but soon Ryan and Jess filed out, Narin stayed behind. He didn’t speak and carefully scooped up one of Jake’s hands. As soon as Jake understood what the Olesckian was doing he almost protested but before he could form the words, the bond between them opened and he understood. There was no deep sharing but Jake felt that as soon as he was ready to, Narin was ready to accept. The pain, stress and betrayal of the last days was too high not to share, Narin knew there was more to Mercy’s computer than had been said and when the time was ready, they’d share. This was pure communion and Jake understood why his people required it to live. There was harmony, balance and peace. The blending of the two offered strength, courage and support. It melted into a deep sense of connection and belonging and rang with the clarity of true brotherhood. When Narin retreated he nodded slightly, with no need for words. Jake watched the tall man turn and leave the med lab and felt more whole, more centered than he had ever felt. The worries, pain and problems hadn’t disappeared but he’d been strongly reminded he didn’t need to carry them alone. He leaned back into the bed and fell soundly asleep.

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Heroes & Ghosts: Outpost Section Six

“He’s coming around.” “Good, is there anything else you have to do, Janet?” Jake asked She shook her head. “He just needs a moment to shake off the sedatives.” “Fine, than all of you out.” He waved to the door. Janet sighed and gathered up her people but the Fleet med techs and officers hovered around uncertain. There was hushed debate that seemed to center around whether or not Jake was a threat to their Captain and it just made Jake roll his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt him, besides, I’m sure you’ll all be right out side the door. If you hear any fuss you can come in and shoot me or something.” “No one is shooting anyone.” Janet protested. “I’m not digging out any more bullets from anyone for at least a week.” “Go on.” Jake shooed again and this time they filed out in uncertainty. “Bloody Fleet, can’t stomach them and they’re too big to shove down the garbage chute.” He muttered when he was alone. Gore chuckled softly from there he lay. “Oh, oh this hurts, oh my.” “Than don’t laugh, stupid.” “Can’t help it, I can just see you trying to put Ruby June down a garbage chute. Oh, oh my.” He wheezed in painful chuckles and held his side. “She’s your second in command?” Gore nodded. “Lt. Hoke, yes.” “Tough woman, almost as stubborn as we are.” “More so on a good day. She’s from Ariel, the Long Gone mountain range, they breed them strong there. She walked two weeks to get to the nearest computer to apply to the Fleet academy. I shouldn’t be awake should I? My insides feel like jelly.” “According to the techs that’s pretty much what was left.” “Damned needle guns.” “Topmost piece was found wedged in your collar bone, bottom most fragment was in one of your legs. Just be lucky it split up so and didn’t contain the charge in one place, you’d have been a goner for sure.”

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“Now I know why civilized fighters don’t use those things.” He groaned and shifted his weight. “How are you?” “Better, it’ll be a few weeks before the bones are back to normal strength but I’m getting around.” He tapped on the low density splits strapped to either leg, they shifted his weight and changed the gravity field so the bones didn’t have to directly carry his weight. “I wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you. There’s no way I could have survived that shot.” Gore shrugged. “Good thing he shot me first.” “He didn’t, you got in his way. I never thought I’d say this but you saved my life. Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” He’d given the man an out and he was impressed at his character that allowed him to thank even what he saw as an enemy. “What happened? Did we win?” “Pretty much so. Look, I had them bring you around early because we need to make a choice and it can’t wait any longer.” “The Flossin Gaurd, do you really have proof?” “Yeah, we do. We’ve been talking with your people and a lot of mine and we’ve come up with two plans. One where we send those files and a report of all that’s happened here off to every government official and news agency, all of them, independent and Concord alike, while filing formal protests with the Concord Fleet and Council. The second option is exactly the same but your ship and name are included. I don’t know how this will play out, we lost some of the information from Ben’s notebook but we got enough to know it’s a complex group. They’ll either be an outrage and you’ll be a hero for bringing it to light or we’ll step on some serious toes and you’ll be forced to retire or even disappear.” Jake sighed and studied the man across from him, they were so close in age and it was an odd thought. The man that had organized their deaths, who had tired to kill Jake himself, had a son at home his own age. “Your people don’t like the risk you’ll be taking, mine don’t like the idea that you might get any honor from it, it’s been an interesting discussion.” “You’d include me, but we had very little to do with this.” “Not true, your people processed the explosion and you sent your people into harms way to try to save Daniel. Not to mention the hole in your side, things would have ended very differently if it weren’t for you and your ship.” Part of his mind screamed that this was the Butcher’s son but he was too logical a man by nature to be ruled blindly by emotion. “I thought you hated me.” Jake had to swallow his emotions hard before he could answer. “I’ve hated your family for more years than I should have. You can’t help to what family you were born too and in every aspect now you’ve acted with honor. I can respect that.” “I was on my first assignment when I got word that my father had been killed in the campaign with your people. That was all I knew at first but the Alekeran’s broke the barricade and took your people’s plight to the Council and than everyone knew. That’s how I learned that your people had infected my father’s flag ship and he’d either been killed by the mutated Bare Earth or when the vessel crashed into your atmosphere. My captain at the time told me that it would be okay because the people who’d murdered him would be punished. Do you know what I felt?” Gore’s eyes were steady, even and level. “No, I don’t.” Jake shook his head.

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“I felt like I’d been released from prison. I felt such relief, such freedom, just knowing he was dead.” He blinked quickly and drew a sharp breath. “I’ve never told anyone that. I loved my father but he was a hard man. My family have served in the Fleet since there was a Fleet, there was never a choice, I was going to the academy. I graduated in the top three percent of my class, my father finished in the top two and he never forgave me for failing. I missed the top two percent by three places but it didn’t matter, it wasn’t good enough. My siblings were supposed to go to the academy also. My brother was in his second year and miserable when word of what our father had done to your people came out. He dropped out that same week and now he’s a journalist. My sister never even tried, she went to art school. We aren’t close, they’ve been very vocal against what our father did and they’ve been angry that I’ve not said more. “I couldn’t make them understand that I stayed in the Fleet because change has to come from within. There are a lot of honorable people here, a lot. The Flossin Guard is a corruption of all that honor, if you’d welcome it, I’d be proud to have my name on that report, no matter what reaction it brings.” It was far more than Jake had expected to hear or learn. “You’ve no idea what it was like for my people.” “You’re right, I don’t.” “Let me say this. My people believe very strongly that the sins of the father pass to the children. Not literally but in the sense of obligations. If I can stop hating you, which is something I never thought I’d be able to do, it’s not in our nature to forgive, maybe you can fulfill some of the ignored obligations.” “I don’t understand?” “After the truth of what happened on Avalon came out, the Concord Council voted for certain measures. Our space was to have been expanded so we’d have more than just our system as a buffer zone, that was never done. Our people were supposed to have been given monetary retributions for the occupation and for the plague, that was never done. All the families of the Concord colonists were compensated and I know money won’t bring loved ones back, trust me I well know it, but our world was stripped bare. Infrastructures were destroyed, valuables were stolen, resources harvested, lives ruined and we had nothing left with which to rebuild. A lot was promised to us but nothing was ever delivered. You could be an advocate, not just in the issue of the truth of the Flossin Gaurd. Help heal the wounds of my people and find absolution for the horrors your father unleashed.” “I think you over estimate my influence.” Jake shook his head. “None of my people expect any help, that’s not what’s important. It’ll mean more to them that someone, you of all people, stood up and cared.” “I won’t promise anything.” Gore shook his head. “I’ll think about it.” “That’s enough.” He patted a hand on the Captain’s shoulder. “It’s more than we had before. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go blow up a conspiracy.”

What with one thing or another a full week passed until Jake was able to take time and see for himself the damage done to the gardens. Most of the loose debris had been cleaned up but the hallway looked too scrubbed clean, to freshly repaired. The doors to the cavern hadn’t been replaced and they stood open, gaping a view for passer bys. He had a moment’s pause to wonder what would have happened if he’d not taken that extra step forward that triggered the doors to shut behind him. The full force of the blast would have hit them, the door wouldn’t have

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sheltered them. He might have survived but Narin would have been killed. The garden was gone. The grass had been burned in spots and pulled up in chunks in others. The trees had been as randomly struck, some had exploded out in splinters or been fully uprooted and some stood as proud and whole as before. Limbs and branches had cracked or blown off. Most had been gathered into stacks of great piles of debris and the sight made his heart ache. The vegetables were gone, smashed flat by debris or pulled from the ground, broken and bent. The stones of the pathways were scattered, large rocks from the cavern itself had been blown around and lay tossed about the surroundings like children’s jacks. There was talk of leaving them where they’d fallen, as a reminder. The water ways had been turned off, what fish that had survived were in tanks awaiting a return to their homes. The lights had been shattered and in some cases the very infrastructure of the garden was gone. It wasn’t a total loss. Plants that had been pulled up still had living roots and people had moved quickly to secure them, the blast marks and damage could be repaired. Lights, pathways, waterways, all could be rebuilt. Even now the dome was being worked on, securely repaired and within a few more weeks would show no sign of the damage it had sustained. It seemed like prideful folly now to look up at the massive dome, the damaged section dark and unable to mock daylight. Only the mad fools from Avalon would so snub their noses at the risk just to have a clear view of the stars. Those same mad fools moved about in stubborn resolve to repair their garden. They were even more aware now of the risks such a crazy display posed and oddly it had made them even more determined to get it back. For now, Jake couldn’t share their conviction and he moved about the torn and shattered garden with a heavy and aching heart. It wasn’t to surprising that his aimless wandering carried him to the mediation grotto. Some of the rock ledge had cracked and tumbled stones down and the waterfall wasn’t running, the chimes were cracked off their posts and would have made for discordant music anyway. The log bridge lay off to the side, it had shaken loose and rolled into the waterway and the plants were bent, broken and drooping. A pale form rose quickly to his feet, a bruised blossom cupped in one hand. Jake paused and bowed his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He turned to go out of respect, the damage to the grotto didn’t provide any comfort to him anyway. “Dr. Ellia, you don’t have to leave.” Flick glanced to the blossom he held. “The destruction of this place saddens us.” “As it does me.” Jake returned to the clearing knowing the invitation had been extended because the Olesckian wished to speak. “Some among my group were so moved that they felt torn by our departure. They wished to stay and help re-grow.” The offer made Jake smile. “The offer will mean a great deal to my people. It’s going to take time, and money.” He shook his head, the cost figures had shown up on his console this morning, just the repair and clean up was staggering. “We’ll manage.” “Your people always do.” “So you’re leaving with Captain Gore?” “Yes, they wished to transfer us to another vessel but we declined. We’re going to travel with Captain Gore and his crew to the Concord’s investigation of the files you presented.” He

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motioned to where he had sat as invitation and than folded himself down onto the rough ground. “Why? Don’t you have events to attend?” “Myself, my group, we willingly became part of this story. It would be a dishonor to not follow it, to see where it leads and what occurs. Our time among your people will become part of our lore.” “I got a message this morning from the folks back home. It seems when they learned you were so near they extended an invitation for you to come and share lore with my people and you refused. They were asking me to try to change your mind.” In truth they’d been a little hurt by the rejection. Avalon had been excluded from the cultural exchange in spite of the fact that the people there were hungry for such contact. Flick smiled lightly. “We didn’t refuse out of rudeness. We’d be delighted to visit your world but your people already have the full services of one Olesckian lorekeeper, it wouldn’t be proper to have two.” “I don’t understand.” As the words came out he suddenly did. “Narin, but he’s unwilling to speak of that, let alone share your people’s lore.” “Your bondmate is a lorekeeper. In time, with your support, he’ll embrace that side of his soul again.” “Even now you won’t speak his name?” He felt bitterly angry at that, the border line game Flick walked felt teasing and cruel. “We have our traditions.” “You mean your laws, and you’re too frightened to make an exception.” “Our traditions, there are few laws among my kind.” Jake shook his head. “Do you even know what his sin really was?” “It’s not our way to ask.” The magnitude of what he suddenly understood became clear. The lorekeepers held such total power that no one, not even another lorekeeper dared to pry. Shunning was such a horrible punishment none were willing to risk it. Yet the whole system depended on the lorekeepers being fair, open minded and honest. How many had been shunned because they were marked as impure by a rigid, frightened, close minded lorekeeper like the one that had exiled Narin? How many over the centuries had been as innocent as Narin, guilty only of thinking or seeing differently than the lorekeeper in power? He understood suddenly the evil Narin had sensed lurking in his people. It wasn’t the overt and obvious evil of Ben Taylor, Mabel Horlench and the rest of the hidden Flossin Guard, that was an evil that while difficult to comprehend, was easy to grasp a hold of. The evil secreted in the Olesckian people was the evil that condemned a man to death for a mere wrong thought. It was vicious, cruel and far too slippery to easily handle. Jake extended a hand to Flick. What had to be done had to be done not for Narin’s sake or his own or even for Flick’s. It didn’t need to be done because of all the brother’s had shared, how deeply they’d loved each other and how torn apart they were now. It had to be done for all their people, the silence for once had to be broken. “I don’t understand?” Flick asked but part of him did.

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“I don’t know how to do it. If I can bond with Narin I can commune with you. I can show you what his sin is, you’ll understand.” Flick paused. “I don’t believe it would be proper.” “What’re you afraid of? Don’t you want to know the truth of what your brother did? Won’t it comfort you to know he tried to do the honorable thing?” That got Flick’s attention, his head snapped up and his eyes grew wider. “That’s right, he slit his stomach open but the humans he was living with stopped him. What tradition can it break? I’m not Olesckian, isn’t it time you see what is so horrible to your people that you would kill someone in such an awful manner?” He knew he was goading him, knew that if Flick today was half the man Narin remembered him being the truth would be soul shaking. “It can’t be any worse than what you’ve imagined all this time.” Cautiously, Flick took the human’s hand. Jake had a moment to hope that Narin was too busy, too engrossed in a project that he didn’t notice what they were doing here and than the communion took him. He understood now the differences between communion with a bondmate and merely another Olesckian. With Narin there was no fear and no holding back, for the time that their minds touched there was no barriers. With Flick, an Olesckian he wasn’t bonded to, there was room for limits. He understood what Narin had said about a secret heart, there was space in Jake that he could choose to share or hold back. This wasn’t about him, he unfolded the memories he’d shared with Narin. The process was surprisingly quick, the difference in strength and health between Flick and Narin was obvious. Flick took the offered memories and absorbed them easily, quickly and Jake could have stopped with the nature of Narin’s sin but he didn’t, he pushed further. He showed Flick just how much his brother had suffered, how deep his loneliness was. He showed him how Narin had tried as soon as he was able to end his life and how empty he was when he still lived. Out poured the long, aching pain of a loneliness so deep that it went beyond words and over it all, through it all, Narin had believed in his own guilt. He’d cherished every moment of agony because he really did believe he was impure. Jake could have stopped it there but he went deeper, he opened his own thoughts to the Olesckian. Because he wasn’t clouded by prejudice and the weight of tradition, because Jake didn’t have a lifetime of conditioning to accept the will of those elders placed above him, he could see with clear eyes. He let his own disgust at such a corrupt system spill over, the doubts he held over the guilt of any shunned so cruelly. Over it all he wore his belief like a coat, Narin was not guilty. He hadn’t seen a truth that had to stay hidden to protect people, he’d seen a truth that would set people free and the parties that would lose power because of it had cast him out. He scorned their ways, their buried but present evil. Jake clung with all his stubbornness trying to convey all he felt needed to be seen. It never occurred to him that Flick would have almost as much to share. If not as emotional or as life shaking, what the Olesckain needed to show Jake was as personally important. He felt the bond between the brothers from the other side. How deeply Flick loved his brother and how much it hurt when Narin was sent away. He’d gone to their parents and begged them to change their minds. He begged not for his own loneliness but because he truly believed his brother was a rare gift, that he perceived things in different and deeper ways than any lorekeeper of their world. Flick had worried that others would fail to see and so fail to cherish such a deep running personality. They denied his request and firmly reminded him of his place. It wasn’t long after that they’d bonded him to two others, the start of a new roaming clan family group and some of the empty loneliness he’d felt at Narin’s leaving was filled. His bondmates could have been jealous of the depths he felt with his brother but instead they rejoiced that they were bonded to someone capable of such depths. Than the bond to Narin frayed and snapped. They’d had no need to wait for official word, Flick knew instantly his brother had been shunned. The blow was nearly crippling and would have been had it not been for his bondmates, now three

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others, who supported him in his grief. For five months, over twice the normal time of mourning, he shared no lore, barely ate and slept restlessly. Something bright and vital had been lost when Narin had been shunned and if not for the love and care of his bondmates, for he did love them dearly, Flick would have followed his brother into death. The family waited for word of Narin’s physical death. The image that came to Jake was of the time when he was little and had seen his grandmother slaughter a chicken. She’d hacked off it’s head but it took a frightfully long time for the body to know it was dead. Narin’s family waited as patiently as Jake’s grandmother because both were certain death was soon to arrive. Only, for Narin, it didn’t. Months dragged by and finally a year and Narin went to the stars. No word arrived and a year turned into years. People began to whisper that Narin was God touched, that he’d been somehow sheltered from the shunning to survive so long. Than as the truth of it seemed far to impossible, they simply said he’d died and no word had been sent to his world. Flick knew differently. It was than that Flick became nearly obsessed with taking his brother’s place. One of their lorekeepers would have to go into the stars for the cultural exchange they’d agreed to but after Narin’s shunning none were willing. The sight of humans and their strange and wicked technology made Flick ill but the need was a burning one and he agreed to go beyond his world. It was a bold choice and a dangerous one, he offered to leave his bondmates, others more inclined to adventure and travel could be found. They were frightened but refused to lose him, the entire family agreed and all six fostered their children with other families and set off among the stars. Determined to find his brother’s body and return it to the grasslands of his youth where the cars’lun flowers would grow to mark his rest. Since there was no tradition approving or disapproving of doing such, he was going to see it done. Only, within days of leaving home, their careful inquires showed that the only other Olesckain off their world was well and alive. Flick had never dared to continue to hope and yet the pain of his brother’s shunning again grew sharp and bitter. It brought back all the uneasy and unanswerable questions and all the grief that had no closure. It was one of his bondmates that learned how, relatively, near they were going to be passing to the station Narin worked on. The man didn’t say it that way, but his meaning was clear. The group discussed it, debated it for days and Flick’s was the only dissenting vote but with the groups majority, they spoke to Captain Gore. The explanation was made carefully. The delicacy of the issue was presented. Captain Gore hadn’t let them down, a part of his ship, something the Olesckians had a difficult time wrapping their minds around, broke and it forced them to head for repairs. Even before they boarded the station, Flick could feel Narin. His pain and despair, burning along his nerves. The first sight of him was like a physical blow, so hollowed, so empty of all the beauty and light that had once glowed in him. Narin’s gaunt face and sunken sad eyes twisted Flick into knots and tore him between tradition, duty and everything that made him Olesckain and his love and need to protect his brother. It was only by reminding himself that Narin had done something unspeakable that kept him from loosing his composure. It was only seeing he was wasting and fading as all the shunned did that reminded him that the body before him was merely a shade of his brother. Seeing Narin, being so near, settled none of his questions and merely raised more of them. His bondmates, rather than being repulsed by his weakness and doubts, had merely loved him more, drawn him deeper and it reminded him of all that was good about their people. They had their traditions to guide them, to hold them together and he was unable to flout them, no matter the pain it caused. Shunning was not done lightly or without extreme cause, he reminded himself of that and clung to his faith. When Jake had gone and bonded to Narin, Flick felt it too and he’d wept with pain, joy, relief and fear. Nothing like this had ever happened. No one, once shunned, found a bondmate and

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survived. Flick’s soul didn’t care if it frayed the fabric of their ways, it only cared that Narin would live. This opened new possibilities and during the coming days of chaos, chaos that the Olesckians weathered to the fullest meaning of bystanders, ideas began to form in his head. His bondmates had agreed to support him in any choice he made, knowing they walked a thin line with their ways but also feeling and sharing the pain of Flick’s loss. It came down to a need to do more for his own sanity and he made the choice to risk the borders of their traditions by sharing with the human. Flick had no doubt that the man would know, deeply know, his motives. For it wasn’t enough to follow traditions, Flick needed his brother to know that even in death he was loved, even in the half life shade of his former self, he was loved. He needed his brother to know that his passing was mourned and he was sorely missed. The need to say good bye was a deep well that couldn’t be filled without action, the need to let his brother know that no matter what anyone said, he felt no shame to be his brother. So Flick used Jake’s offer, only he hadn’t expected to be offered a sharing in return. Jake trembled in the sudden understanding and was grateful when the communion and the sharing ended but the greater effect was seen on Flick. He physically pushed away, forcing a greater distance than had been between them. He doubled over his knees and keened softly in raged breathes. Jake made no move to help or comfort him, it was harsh but the Olesckian needed to face what he’d been shown in his own way. He needed to be alone in his own mind where the pillars of his blind belief were shaken and the doubts and questions of his people’s ways now would lurk. The experience Narin had endured alone, without the added weight of wrong doings by their people, would be twice as disturbing to Flick as it had been to Jake himself, shunning was a cultural fear and Narin was his brother. “He’ll know, I swear to you, he’ll know.” Jake said in a soft whisper, uncertain if the man heard him. Two Olesckians brushed past Jake, ignoring him and going to Flick’s side. They knelt beside him, their faces twisted up in concern and fear. The woman rubbed his back and the man spoke in soft words in their own language. Flick merely shook his head and when the trio fell unusually silent, Jake could feel the deep and long standing bonds they shared, he could feel how easily the three communed and he knew the information Flick had just learned was being shared. Before they were finished, their little ragged clearing gained another visitor. Narin hadn’t run to the garden’s but he’d crossed the hallways and distance at a very fast walk, driven by the worry that ate at him. His wide eyes were fearful and they filled with dread when he saw the scene in the clearing. Jake stood to go to him and try to explain but Narin didn’t want to listen. “Don’t you understand?” Narin hissed out and shook off Jake’s hands. The shame pouring off him in waves. “It’s bad enough you know what I’ve done, but for Flick to know? I’m not sure I can stand it and what will the other’s think? My sin had been passed along, it’s in him now. They’ll shun him too, this pain,” his hands folded over his chest and his eyes were clouded, “that I’ve had to endure, I can’t bare to know he’ll suffer it too, because of me.” I bring pain to all I touch. He heard the words as clearly as if they were spoken but the Olesckian hadn’t verbalized them. Jake reached up and took the pale man’s face between his hands, the way he used to with Colin when the boy was distraught, the way their father had done with Jake when he was a boy. “Listen to me, you do no such thing. Do you hear me? You do not bring pain to all you touch! All you’ve ever brought me was friendship and brotherhood. That’s something I thought I’d never have again and my life is richer for it. I won’t stand for you thinking like that. Do you hear me?” Narin nodded as best he could with Jake’s hands on his face and some of the clouds cleared from his pale eyes. “Yes, I do.” He whispered.

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“Good, don’t forget it either. I swear you’ve been hanging around with Ryan too much, you’re getting as stubborn and ornery as he is.” That pulled a shy smile from Narin, it was odd seeing his somber face thawing. What they’d all assumed was Olesckian gravity was merely the reflection of Narin’s despair, depression and loneliness. They were a serious people, Jake had seen it in the sharing he’d been blessed with but they were also equally quick to laugh. Slowly, some of the man’s spirit was healing. The smile fled as Flick was helped to rise to his feet by his bondmates. Narin hung his head and the shame returned, heavy and dark. It bowed his shoulders and made Jake sigh because he knew no amount of bonding, no amount of communion or sharing would ever free Narin of his perceived guilt. Flick came to stand in front of them with his eyes only on his brother. “Jake, please be sure to tell your bondmate that I made the choice to share with you of my own will. You are not to be blamed for any misperceived fears or worries, I took it upon myself.” Jake knew enough of their ways now to know this was as close to directly speaking to Narin as any Olesckian had gotten. Most hadn’t even looked at him since he was shunned, as if he truly were an invisible ghost. “I will.” “Also, if the subject comes up, what you shared with me, I know he should remember but in his shame I think he feels it was justified. What the elder lorekeeper and her bondmates did, violating his mind when he was not bonded to them, it’s wrong. There is no excuse for such actions, the only way by our traditions and laws that should have occurred is if a council of three lorekeepers felt it was needed. No one lorekeeper, no matter how grand or respected, has the right to ransack anyone’s mind that way.” Flick’s voice wavered in rage barely held in check. Narin’s shoulders were trembling but he kept his head firmly bowed, eyes downcast and he feared a single glance up would shatter what remained of his control. Jake stood for a moment aware that Flick had paused in expectation of something said from him but it took effort to find words. “It comforts me to know this, I didn’t before just now. It repulsed me that your people would allow and accept such violence, I’m pleased to learn you don’t.” “We most certainly do not allow it. If our parents had known they were dangling him along that way, keeping him floating, un-bonded as a tool or puppet, they would have pulled him home. We were told they’d not bound him because it was his choosing, I learn differently now and the loneliness and sense of not belonging is unforgivable. It shames my family that we allowed this to continue.” Flick had to pause, his words broken into by a small keening sound from Narin. “Additionally, Jake, please tell your bondmate that the reason for his shunning is unacceptable. It’s our way to be ruled by tradition, we believe that the past lessons guide us safely into the future but those traditions should never be a noose, strangling growth and life. If we’ve descended so low that a man can be shunned for merely thinking a thought, we’ve no right to continue. The evil is truly in our hearts and we’re too often blind to it. I believe the reason for this punishment comes from one woman’s need for control, one woman’s dry and closed mind frightened by change and youth. That is not a crime, change has been the only thing to ever save our people. I ache for these injustices, we all ache for them and for the crushing burden that this veil of silence may well have tortured other innocents.” Narin’s knees buckled and he collapsed to the dirt and grass below. Jake merely rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder, knowing it was enough comfort for now. Knowing Narin was hearing words he’d never even dared to pray for. “We owe you a great debt of gratitude, Doctor Jacob Ellia. If not for your compassion and anger this wrong, like I suspect many before, would have gone unknown.”

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“Gratitude and thanks do little to fix the damage done.” “We’re aware of that. It will require research and study, no one’s ever been recalled once they’ve been shunned but I believe I know the process. I’ve made rather a study of such things, it’s hidden deep in our lore. Please tell your bondmate that he will know the communion of his people again. Either I will see to it this evil is exposed and this wrong corrected or I will refuse to live among such creatures.” “No!” Narin hissed and he raised his face for the first time, tears streaked it unnoticed. Jake patted the shoulder below his hand to steady Narin. “I don’t believe my bondmate would wish you to be shunned as well. He would find it a hurtful to know you were harmed as he was.” “Assure him I won’t be. Exile is not the same as shunning, I will chose to go. My bondmates are in agreement and several others may be as well, once they learn the truth. There are a few of us with the pure souls of our ancestors left, even if we’ve been blinded by our idealism for far too long. It must be your job now, Jacob Ellia, to see your bondmate grows strong and stays strong for I must think on this a while and action will be slow. What is done in an instant can never be repaired as quickly but he has held so fiercely to his will for so long, with your support, a little while longer will pass quickly.” “I’ll do my best to help.” Flick nodded but all he could see was his brother. “Thank you. Now, please forgive me, we should return to our rooms.” For the first time Jake could see below the surface calm of the man, there was tension and new sprung pain. Jake knew now that Narin, in spite of feeling mature, was no more than an adolescent when he’d been sent to the elder lorekeeper. The impression he’d gotten from Flick translated in his thoughts as the same developmental age of a fourteen year old human male. He understood now the reaction of Narin’s first human friends at how he’d spent his life in studies and now was to be married to an elderly group. For Flick it meant he’d failed his younger brother, Jake had viewed them as equals in age but that had been Narin’s perception, the truth was much different. He’d been little more than a boy when he’d been shunned. The pain of those shared memories, the shame of knowing how horribly Narin had been mistreated, how long he’d suffered in silence, had shaken Flick to the core of his soul. He was only holding together on the strength of his bondmates and the proud dignity of their ways kept such emotions private with in their own families. Jake saw now the stiff, graceless way Flick moved for the control it took to remain steady and the protective shelter of his bondmates who loved him so deeply. He nodded his head respectfully and let them pass without taxing them with further words. Olesckians weren’t a species to cry easily, tears were wrung from their eyes from physical pain easier than emotional. Narin had expressed surprise and unease over the years at how easily human’s wept at the slightest provocation. Living among so many of the walking emotionally wounded of Avalon he’d had ample chance to study the various moods that brought tears to their eyes, for it was in Avalon culture that tears were a sacred thing and not to be ashamed of or hidden. It shocked Narin to learn humans wept for anything, joy, sorrow, empathy, sympathy, grief, laughter, delight, relief, anger, even beauty sometimes welled up tears. He’d envied them that release. For in his own pain there was little outlet and only a few times over the long years had he been in such agony that it welled from his soul but like a pressure valve, once the tears were spent little of the despair had leaked away with them. Of all the time’s he’d been able to weep, alone for he wasn’t from Avalon, the tears had only been a small comfort. They’d left him feeling wrung out and exhausted, too tired to even consider thinking let alone living.

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The keening came almost as soon as Flick and his bondmates were out of sight, the soft, almost whistling sound that was their normal sobs of emotion. Quick on it’s heels came the tears and not just the spattering of them but a great, almost human flood of grief. Narin let the tears fall, as was tradition, with no efforts to wipe them from eye or face. Their stories said that where Olesckian tears fell, flowers would grow. It was just a story but a pretty one and the tradition was firmly rooted. Jake sat with his friend, silent and unafraid of Narin’s emotion. He was aware of the great weight he’d been carrying for so long, how dark things had been only a week before. Now there was more hope than could safely be placed into words and the first healing touches of absolution had come creeping in. Jake knew how powerful it was to feel a hint that you may be innocent when you’ve carried around shame. He sat with Narin and said nothing, knowing this was the first time the tears were washing the wounds clean. The End

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