Chapter 29
“You look handsome.” Aaron said as Garret entered the room they shared. Garret was still wearing his formal clothes as he had all day. Aaron was wearing a pair of loose-fitting black and white checkered pants and a white cotton undershirt. The pants were stained from a day in the kitchens, and he was stretched out in the room’s most comfortable chair, a brown leather overstuffed thing in the corner, complete with footstool. His hair hung limp, devoid of all curls by a day in a hot, steamy kitchen, and his face was showing a new zit from his toils over the last few days and not enough time spent in the shower.
“You look exhausted.” Garret said with a tired sigh as he undid the clasp on the gold chain to release the half-sized cape from around his neck. The truth was that Garret was also exhausted.
“I did have to cook that wonderful meal you and two hundred and eighty guests ate.” Aaron snorted with a hint of anger in his voice. He had been upset that he wasn’t sitting at the table with Garret and the others after the wedding ceremony in the glittering lobby of the government building. Herm Mosner, the Chief Justice of the Republic Supreme Court had presided over the ceremony, having traveled all the way from Peladon with Chief Speaker Ito and the others.
“We got several compliments on the meal.” Garret said to appease him. “You did an excellent job.”
“Well I certainly hope so.” Aaron grumbled. “Do I get a reward for all my hard work?”
“What kind of reward did you have in mind?” Garret teased and Aaron shuffled in his seat, slouching down so his crotch was clearly visible along with the leer on his face.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe something to do with this.” Aaron teased back with a lustful look as he slid his loose pants down far enough to show his half-hard penis. Garret smiled at the sight and walked across the space separating them to kneel down between Aaron’s legs, pushing aside the footstool when it got in the way.
“Ah, that’s it.” Aaron groaned, running his hands through Garret’s hair. After a few minutes, he pulled Garret back up and began kissing him while removing Garret’s formal tunic. It was quite apparent that Aaron was in one of his take-charge moods, and Garret was more than willing to let that happen. Hopefully it’d take the sting out of words he’d planned to have with Aaron later tonight. “She might have gotten the piece of paper that says she’s married to you, but you’re mine, aren’t you, Garret?”
“I like having you in my bedroom, yes.” Garret answered, suddenly uncomfortable with the little games they usually played in the privacy of their bedroom. Aaron loved to hear that Garret was really his, or that he was Garret’s depending on his mood, but in light of yesterday’s conversations with Toshiro Ito and his mother, as well as the events later that night with Billy, he knew that no matter what words they shared here, his heart would always be elsewhere.
“That’s not the answer I wanted.” Aaron growled and there was a strange look in his eyes as he finished ripping Garret’s shirt open. That was when Garret remembered, just a moment too late to stop it from happening. “What the hell is that?”
“What do you think it is?” Garret asked feeling his anger begin to grow. This was stupid! Why the hell had he ever let himself get into these little possession games with Aaron?
“I know what the hell it is. What I want to know was how it got there!” Aaron fumed, standing up just as Garret also stood. They were standing close to each other, and Aaron was practically panting in anger. “Who the hell put it there? You were supposed to be with your blasted brother all night! Did he get you some tramp pleasure clone as a bachelor party? Is that why you wouldn’t let me go with you?”
“You were busy fixing the damn meals for today.” Garret fumed back at him, losing his temper and not really caring how Aaron reacted this time. “Besides you know damn well that I don’t have to be faithful to you and I’ve never made any promises that I would be that way!”
“You know what has to happen now!” Aaron bellowed. “You’re going to have to make it up to me! What model was it?”
“It wasn’t any model.” Garret said in a low, angry voice. “It was just Billy and me all night.”
“Your own brother?” Aaron questioned in shocked anger. “That’s perverted!”
“No more perverted than you crawling into your own brother’s bed and sucking him off while he slept!” Garret shot back, and instantly regretted his words. Aaron had idolized his brother, and Garret never mentioned it before.
“How do you know that?” Aaron asked in a pale voice.
“How do you think I know?” Garret said derisively. “He told me while I was fucking him in our room on Braxix!”
“You, my brother, how could you?” Aaron nearly had tears in his eyes and a feeling of guilt washed away Garret’s anger.
“Damn it, Aaron, I’m sorry.” Garret said softly. “I shouldn’t have told you like that. Yeah your brother and I did it, twice. He wasn’t always asleep when you snuck into his bed, either.”
“He thought sex between guys was disgusting, he told me that several times.” Aaron said with a sniffle, and Garret moved to hug him, but Aaron brushed him off, walking over to one of the shelves with his little crystal figurines. He picked one up, one that Garret knew his brother had sent to him after he’d gone off to college.
“Well, if he got horny he didn’t mind it quite as much.” Garret said with a shrug. “He certainly seemed to enjoy getting fucked.”
“Don’t say it like that!” Aaron shouted. “You make it sound like it’s something dirty with him.”
“You say you want to fuck me all the time.” Garret pointed out. “Does it sound dirty then to you?”
“No, but you’re a clone.” Aaron said and Garret felt his stomach give a little flip at the derisive sound in Aaron’s voice.
“Then what’s the problem?” Garret wondered aloud.
“He was my brother!” Aaron roared in a voice filled with pain.
“Look, we should both take a deep breath here and calm down.” Garret said as calmly as he could and did what he’d suggested by taking a deep breath. Aaron just glared at him.
“You calm down yourself.” Aaron said in a rage. “I’m going to go.”
“Where are you going to go?” Garret asked as Aaron grabbed several of his figurines and moved towards the door.
“There’s always extra rooms.” Aaron said with an added glare at Garret before stomped out of the room.
Garret watched him go with a sigh, not sure if he should chase after him or what. Part of him was relieved that Aaron was gone, and he hated that part for a moment. Damn it, he liked Aaron, even after the things that Marja had made him think about. It wasn’t like he could blame the young man. He wasn’t trained like Garret was, and Garret was the one who had given his ideas too much credit. Garret had wanted Aaron to feel like he was useful beyond being a good cook, and had followed some of Aaron’s ideas based on that desire, apparently to his detriment.
“Don’t laugh.” Aaron’s voice surprised him as the door opened. Garret had finished stripping off his formal clothes, hanging them up while he stood in the slightly chilly room wearing nothing but the knee-length lomex underwear that Aaron liked him to wear.
“You’re back.” Garret stated the obvious.
“With all the damn wedding guests there aren’t any extra rooms.” Aaron growled. “You can sleep in the armchair.”
“It’s my room.” Garret shot back and Aaron gave him a frustrated look.
“I knew this would happen.” Aaron muttered miserably as the façade of anger slid from his face to be replaced by moist eyes and a slightly quivering lip.
“You knew what would happen?” Garret asked him in a much softer tone, although he repressed the urge to go and hug Aaron.
“You would lose interest in me eventually.” Aaron muttered. “There’s only one person who has ever held your heart and now that he’s back in your life, even if he’s risking his marriage, I’m out on the curb.
“You’re not out on the curb and what happened last night with Billy was special.” Garret said and winced at the look on Aaron’s face in response to those words.
“More special than me?” Aaron’s voice was almost breathless.
“It was special in that it won’t happen all that much.” Garret said with a shrug. “Imaline’s come around a bit when it comes to Billy and me. She could see how much he missed me, and while she’s pregnant and not willing to…be intimate with him, she’s given him permission to spend time with me again. When she’s had her baby, she expects him to be faithful again.”
“So I can come back when he’s gone is that it?” Aaron asked bitterly.
“Do you see him here, now?” Garret asked Aaron rhetorically. “It might happen once or twice again before she gives birth, but both Billy and I are busy men. You know I won’t ever make a commitment to be faithful to you, or to anyone else, not even him. I’m married to Masako.”
“It’s a sham of a marriage.” Aaron’s voice was still bitter.
“In some people’s eyes, it might be, but not in ours.” Garret answered calmly. They’d been over this before, but it sounded like Aaron had not understood. “We have certain expectations of our marriage, and it may not include monogamous sexual interaction between her and I, but there are certain things we do both expect. Our other liaisons should never become public fodder, our children and our House must always come first, and we share our thoughts and opinions with each other as well as listen to the other person’s ideas.”
“And I was supposed to fill in the gaps for you, right?” Aaron said in a voice that held less bitterness but a bit of reproof. “I didn’t have a problem with you going and fucking other clones, they’re just clones and I’m a Natural Born.”
“You did after Lukas and I…” Garret reminded him and Aaron used a short, cutting gesture with his hand to cut Garret off.
“I learned to deal with it.” Aaron muttered. “Look the thing is, they’re clones and he’s Natural Born and I just am not comfortable with it. I don’t want you seeing him or any other like him and me.”
“What’s the difference?” Garret asked with real concern. “I can fall in love with a clone just as easily as a Natural Born.”
“No, you couldn’t.” Aaron laughed at that statement, although it wasn’t an easy, carefree laugh, rather it held a note of derision. “For all that you speak of equality between clones and Natural Borns, you hold each in their place in your mind more than even my mother did. Clones follow orders, they do what they’re told, they’re naturally more loyal to the Republic and are to be trusted more. That is what your actions say, Garret Atrix. Sure, you believe clones can do more jobs than most people believe, and when it comes to civil rights, you’re all pro-clone, but in the end they’re still clones to you and Natural Borns are Natural Borns. You might like a certain clone more than others, you might lust after him, but you won’t love him the way you do that blasted brother of yours or…or the way I thought you might love me.”
“I do love you, Aaron.” Garret said with a heavy sigh. “If I didn’t love you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and there would be another room ready for you right now. You should realize something else too, Aaron. I might have relations with other people from time to time, but none of them sleep here in this room, and none of them have ever come in here for that either.”
“Why not?” Aaron asked in a small voice as a single tear dripped out of one corner of his eye and he looked at Garret with a pleading expression.
“It’s because I do care for you.” Garret said in a slightly husky voice. As much as he didn’t want it to, the look of vulnerability on Aaron’s face right now was enticing, and he couldn’t quite stop his reaction, which had to be visible to Aaron since Garret was only wearing the tight white lomex under shorts. “I respect what we have together, and in this room at least, it’s just you and I.”
“I never thought of it that way.” Aaron admitted as a sheepish smile lit his face. “Maybe you should tell me to forgive you now and apologize.”
“No.” Garret said with more force than he anticipated and Aaron winced. Garret let out a sigh and crossed the distance between them, lifting his hand to run a finger along Aaron’s jaw at the same time he leaned in to kiss Aaron’s cheek where the tear had fallen. “You want to know something about Billy and I, Aaron? Something that might help you and I in our relationship?”
“What is it?” Aaron said reluctantly.
“Here in this room, you and I have been playing these domination/submission games. Billy and I did that too, for a while after I first received the sexual companion learning disks. It was fun for a bit, but we grew tired of it fairly quickly.”
“Why?” Aaron asked with a hint of real curiosity in his voice.
“Because we knew in the end that neither of us could ever really see the other as truly being a master, or a slave.” Garret explained. “In Billy’s eyes, we were equals, even though at the time we did not know I was really heir to House Atrix, or anything more than an experimental model of military clone being raised in his home. We cared for each other, loved each other, and that made us equals in both of our eyes even though in the outside world our ranks were so different. Even now, when I’m the Speaker of a Great House, and a Commodore in the military thereby outranking him both socially and militarily, we are still equals. That is why I so enjoyed last night with him, because it wasn’t just sex, it was a meeting, an enjoyment between equals and that’s what I want with you.”
“Which is not something I can give, right?” Aaron said bitterly. “I’m just your cook.”
“Damn it Aaron, will you listen to what I say?” Garret growled angrily. “You don’t have to be some military officer or official of a Great House to be my equal. All you have to do is be a damn good cook, which you already are! I’d give you the money to start up your own restaurant if that’s what you wanted, or even a chain of them, if it would help you see that you can be my equal. All you have to do is be the best at what you do. Whether it’s as a cook or a diplomat doesn’t matter as long as you’re the best that you can be at your chosen field. That’s why I made you my persona chef, not because it was a convenient place to put you and keep you close, but so you can get recognition as being the best in your field. You know I had the Calosian President ask how much I paid you so he could double it in order to pry you away from here?”
“He did?” Aaron’s eyes lit up for a moment, and there was a slow smile. “Do you really believe you’d think of me as your equal just because I’m a good cook?”
“No, because you’re a great cook worthy of recognition as such.” Garret said with a sigh. “You don’t have to try so hard to help me solve my problems with Calos in order for me to appreciate your usefulness and your presence here. Just having you here when I come home from a long day is a big help, and having you be the best chef you can be on this planet makes you my equal in its own way. You don’t have to try so hard Aaron, and you don’t have to worry about your place in my life. That place is earned every day by the way you help me.”
“You mean my advice?” Aaron’s face lit up again and Garret wanted to curse.
“By being a good chef who brings recognition to my house whenever we have guests, who keeps the people who work for me happy through good food, and believe me that does help.” Garret answered, his heart sinking as Aaron’s face fell.
“So my advice sucks.” Aaron said miserably.
“No, it’s just that it’s a little naďve, Aaron.” Garret said. “Now if you want to help me in that arena as well, we can fix that.”
“Oh yeah?” Aaron said snidely.
“Yes, I’ll arrange for you to spend a few semesters under the tutelage of some of the best political scientists in the Republic.” Garret answered. “When you finish with those courses, you can come back as an official advisor to me, if that’s what you want.”
“You’d do that?” Aaron asked with wide eyes.
“Yes, I’d do that for you.” Garret said and this time he kissed Aaron’s lips. “I do like having you around, but I’ll live without you for a while if it means that you’ll be more comfortable when you come back.”
“I think I can live with being the best damn chef on this planet.” Aaron said with a smile as he returned the kiss. As he began to remove Aaron’s t-shirt, Garret’s heart did a little leap. His mother and the others might have meant well, but they just didn’t understand Aaron the way he did. Nor did he want Aaron out of his life, but he was still glad they’d provided the impetus bringing him to have this talk with Aaron. Part of that was because what followed their talk was some of the best love-making they’d ever done, rivaling even what he’d done with Billy the night before.
Certainly Aaron left more marks than Billy had on Garret’s skin.
“My Lord, you’re looking better this morning.” Davin said as Garret sat down for breakfast the next morning. Aaron had made a light breakfast, consisting mostly of candied fruits and a light omelet. Masako gave him a long look before smiling slightly. “Married life must be agreeing with you.”
“Very funny, Davin.” Masako said with a sly smile. “What do you have for us this morning?”
“Your guests will be departing in a few hours.” Davin said as he settled down at a seat and began to munch on a slice of apple. “Security arrangements at the spaceport are in place and we’ve identified two Jordanite cells that were planning a bombing along the route we’ll take. They really didn’t plan on hitting a VIP, just causing chaos and confusion.”
“This worries me.” Garret said after swallowing a bite of the delicious omelet. Aaron’s cooking was really good this morning, and he’d left their room early, with a broad smile on his face. He was feeling particularly cheerful and clearheaded this morning. “In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a marked increase in the amount of violence being planned by followers of the earth religion.”
“They are starting to realize that they are losing their grip on the hearts and minds of the Calosian people, although some recent events might be making them more desperate than they need to be right now.” Masako said with a pointed look at Garret.
“I’ve realized some of the mistakes I’ve made and won’t be repeating them.” Garret said coolly to her and she nodded after a long moment of studying him.
“Good, I am the stick, you are the carrot.” She reminded him. “There is no need for you to be both.”
“That is true, my wife.” Garret said and was pleased by the soft blush that filled her cheeks.
“I find I like the sound of that more than I expected I would.” She said as she patted her belly. Her pregnancy was now very much noticeable.
“We need to discuss something else.” Garret told them. “I will be joining the Adamant on its shakedown cruise.”
“Will I be going along?” Masako asked after a moment of silence had filled the room.
“May I ask why you have chosen to go along on what should be a standard cruise?” Mika Melstein asked. As the Chief of Staff to House Atrix, the man had the right to ask the question and more.
“I cannot be more specific at this point.” Garret said with a frown. He really should just tell them it was a desire to get into space again, but he did not want to lie to them.
“It has something to do with father and Speaker Lars visiting you the night before the wedding.” Masako said shrewdly and Garret nodded.
“Devin will accompany you on this journey along with Barret Niles and one more from your personal staff to keep you updated on House business.” Davin said and received a short nod of approval from Mika.
“I assume you will not be in communications blackout?” Mika asked.
“We won’t be traveling at the necessary speeds except for short periods of time.” Garret admitted with a shake of his head. “During those periods we’ll receive and then transmit responses at the next available opportunity. For things requiring a more immediate attention, Masako will serve as my factor. She is my wife now, and the Lady Atrix. Davin, you will guard her, of course.”
“With my life, my lord.” Davin assured him and Garret nodded.
“When do you leave, husband?” Masako asked, testing the word out and smiling at how it rolled off of her tongue.
“Adamant will be ready in slightly more than two weeks.” Garret stated. “Before she leaves, I need to make a short trip out of the system, and that will have to take place very soon.”
“Where are you going?” Masako asked.
“Sightseeing.” Garret answered and she frowned before nodding. He smiled at her then. “You will, of course, be going with me.”
“I will?” She asked as a smile formed on her face.
“Yes, space travel is still safe for you at this stage of your pregnancy.” Garret replied. Pregnant women close to delivering their baby had on occasion suffered ill effects from the process of jumping, but Masako was still in the margin of safety.
“Ah, a surprise honeymoon getaway.” Mika said, catching on first.
“That will look good for the media.” Lelaine said, having remained silent up to now.
“I have had the military make a small courier ship available for our use.” Garret informed them.
“Will you be taking anyone else along, my lord?” Davin asked.
“You or Devin won’t be needed on this trip.” Garret said as he ran down the list of possible people to take. “It’s a small ship, so I’ll need another pilot to relieve me since it will take a few days to get there and back. Plan for us to be gone for a standard week in total. Warrant Officer Lukas should be capable of handling the other piloting duties.”
“Aaron won’t like that.” Masako smirked.
“Don’t be so hard on him.” Garret said with an edge. “We had a talk last night and have reached an understanding on several levels. He will focus on his duties as our chef from now on, without complaint.”
“We’ll see.” Masako said. “He certainly has made a fine breakfast today. It is good to see him remember that he is our chef, first and foremost.”
“I’ll borrow a couple of other crew members from the Adamant.” Garret continued. “No offense gentlemen, but this little trip requires the utmost of confidentiality.”
“I think I understand.” Mika said with a twinkle in his eye. Besides Garret, he was the only other person that would know the location of where he was going.
“You will act as my factor although I doubt anything will come up in the span of a week.” Garret said to him and he nodded.
“I will see to the preparations that should be made.” Masako said as she finished her food. Garret also finished his food up with one last bite and stood up to leave the room. Before he headed out, he at least wanted to let Aaron know that he would be gone.
“You’re leaving already?” Aaron said after Garret complemented him on breakfast and had told him of his travel plans.
“Yes, there are things to attend to that need my presence.” Garret said with a slight frown. “The timing sucks, I know. I don’t like leaving you so soon after our talk last night, but the sooner I do leave, the sooner I return.”
“I’ll plan a special meal for your return if you let me know when that’ll be.” Aaron said with a smile.
“I’ll do what I can.” Garret said returning the smile. He gave him a kiss before turning to leave.
When they saw their parents off to the spaceport, Garret and Masako boarded a waiting shuttle on another pad. Their travel bags had already been packed, and Garret was wearing denim jeans with a blue tunic all covered by a heavy parka because it was snowing once again on Calos. The boxy shuttle was being piloted by a smiling Lukas, who saluted before they took off for the courier waiting in orbit.
It would be a few hours before their absence was noted, and a smirking Mika Melstein would appear in front of whatever cameras asked, telling Calos that the newly married pair had decided on a last-minute honeymoon to an undisclosed location off-planet.
“Docking hatch is secure, sir.” Luka said from the cockpit of the shuttle after having maneuvered up to the waiting courier ship that was in low orbit.
“You did that very well.” Garret told the 07 model clone, who smiled brightly at the praise. Sure, there had been a noticeable bump and an abort on the first attempt, but Lukas hadn’t been a pilot for very long.
“Thank you, Commodore.” Lukas said with a smile. It was just the three of them on the shuttle, and Garret motioned for Lukas to go ahead and open the hatch to the courier ship. It was one of the courier ships with six high-speed ion engines and a decent range for their trip. The interior was spartan, with small cabins, but the ship would not be nearly full for this journey. Besides Garret, Masako and Lukas, the Adamant had sent over Liam, an 08 model clone that was a fighter pilot and cleared for small ships like the courier vessel. O’Malley had sent over two engineers, and they also had a cook/attendant for their quarters. Their steps were almost echoing through the ship that could hold fifteen crew and another eight passengers.
“Mister Lukas, please inform Mister Liam to set a course for the accelerator. Once we are through, I am to be notified. The bridge will be cleared and I will set our course myself.” Garret said in a rush as he helped the cook/attendant with Masako’s bags.
“Aye sir, we’ll disconnect from the shuttle in just a minute.” Lukas said with a salute. A crew would come later to recover the small shuttle where it would remain in a low orbit. This courier ship was rectangular in shape with a bank of six engines in the stern, and far less comfortable than the Adamant. Garret put his bags in the cabin normally used by the ship’s commander, and gave Masako a quick tour. The decks thrummed as the engines were engaged and they moved out of orbit.
“One hour, fifteen minutes until we reach the accelerator.” Liam’s voice came over the ship’s intercom as Garret showed Masako into the small dining room. The cook from Adamant was already preparing a light afternoon meal in the connected kitchen.
“Am I wrong in assuming that we are heading to the Atrix bolt-hole?” Masako asked softly with a coy smile as they sat down at one of the tables in the room, one of the largest in the ship next to the engine room.
“No, you would not be wrong.” Garret said with a smile.
“What is this mission my father has set for you?” She asked as the cook noticed them and came out with a tray of tea and snacks for them. Garret waited until the 07 model left the room. Except for the shape of his legs, he looked very similar to Lukas who was the same model.
“I am joining Billy in hunting down the Traitorous forces operating behind our lines.” Garret summarized and then went on to explain more of the details.
“That is a fitting mission for you.” She said by way of approval. “It will do you good to get off-planet and conduct a real military operation.”
“That’s the general agreement.” Garret said with a rueful smile. “Have I really made such a mess of things?”
“No, not really.” Masako replied honestly as she sipped her tea. “The last few weeks have seen a few blunders, but overall you are doing well. The fact that the bishop is letting his believers take violent action is a sign of how well we are doing. They will seek to use terror to cow the people, and we must be in a position to counter that terror and pin the blame squarely where it belongs, on him.”
“Despite the fact that we have agents in place who are encouraging their violent tendencies.” Garret pointed out and she smiled.
“A few attacks will succeed, when they start them.” She shrugged. “We cannot stop all of them the way we did today. At this point, we do not have agents in every cell they are forming. When the attacks do begin though, we will be able to arrest many of them and help the law enforcement agencies apprehend their leaders. The bishop’s hands will be smeared with the blood of innocents and people will remember why they are lucky to not be under Imperial rule.”
“I’d rather have discouraged them than encouraged them.” Garret said as he sipped his own tea and looked over the rim at her.
“Sometimes my husband, you surprise me.” She said with a little laugh before her face grew serious again. “You have not shared any of this with your… bedmate?”
“No, I haven’t.” Garret said with a shrug. “Sending my mother after me was a low-handed trick, by the way.”
“It worked, did it not?” Masako asked with a tilt of her head. “You have not listened to my warnings about him and listened far too much to ideas born of his naivety. He is not necessarily idiotic, but his ideas are not well thought out.”
“I gave him a choice.” Garret said with a shrug. “He could study politics under some of the best theorists in the Republic, or he could focus on being a good chef. Either way would win my approval.”
“And the games you play with him?” Masako asked and Garret almost blushed.
“Billy reminded me how much better it is to sleep with someone without the games.” Garret said with a slight smile. “Aaron has seen the light, I do believe.”
“That is good, it has been an interesting time working on Imaline.” Masako said with a shrug. “I do admit that I like her, though. She has a fine mind and knows her limitations. She is a top-notch geneticist, not a political animal.”
“Few women are as capable politically as you are, my dear.” Garret replied fondly and she smiled at him before nodding in acceptance of the accolade.
The journey to the bolt-hole was quick and efficient, just as Garret had hoped it would be. The crew assigned to engineering rarely showed their face anywhere, going so far in nursing the ship’s engines that they took their meals in engineering. Lukas shared Garret’s bed each night, and while Garret missed both Aaron and Billy, he found the well-muscled clone to be an acceptable palliative. Liam spent most of his time on the dog watch. There wasn’t much for either Lukas or Liam to do except monitor the small bridge’s sensors. Garret had plotted a course well off the main trade lanes and while the ship accelerated there wasn’t much for them to do except monitor the ship’s systems.
Garret had locked down the navigation console to prevent either of them from having any real knowledge of their course, and while they might have gotten a dead-fix from looking at the stars, the ship was devoid of any recording devices or removable drives that could have stored their readings or be used to transfer the information. There was the risk they would remember any star fixes well enough to use them when they got back, but Garret kept them out of the bridge for six hours after a jump, making sure that their readings wouldn’t be as accurate as would be needed to really follow the trip.
There was always some risk in a trip such as this, but that had to be lived with, or died with as the case might be.
“Is this it?” Masako asked two days later as they completed their last jump and Garret pointed the ship at an obtuse angle before engaging the drives. The nearest star, a white dwarf, shimmered in the far distance, barely brighter than the other stars visible.
“Yes.” Garret replied as they began to build up thrust. All the window shutters on the ship were shut as they made the final approach, and Liam was probably sleeping off his latest shift while Lukas worked his wiles on keeping the cook occupied. He’d been trying to get in the cook’s bed whenever Lukas wasn’t in Garret’s and Garret wished him luck. The cook, whose name he never had bothered to memorize was a wily creature.
“Is it a planet or asteroid base?” Masako asked as the ship moved at its maximum acceleration. This was the most interesting part of the trick. The aging star created weird gravity fluctuations even this far out, and a ship had to be at the right level of thrust in order to make the entrance.
“Both.” Garret explained as he began firing maneuvering thrusters and set the ship’s gravitic drive to a precise setting. The scientist who had discovered this phenomenon had been a cousin of House Atrix twenty years before the Great War. She had reported the findings to the father of the last Atrix Speaker and he had established a scientific research station there. Because of its odd nature, the research station had been kept secret from the Republic. House Atrix had wanted to reap the scientific benefits for itself first.
Despite years of study, the phenomenon had eluded the understanding of the scientists that had studied it, and when the war broke out the research station had been folded into the Atrix bolt-hole. Sensor alarms began to ring out and Garret silenced them with a touch while making minute course changes. Even if Liam or Lukas had taken star fixes, and remembered enough to accurately guide someone else this far, without the knowledge Garret had received from Mika Melstein, they would not succeed in this final part of the trip.
“What’s happening?” Masako asked in a worried voice as her hands curled up over her belly.
“It’s going to feel like a rough jump, just relax and breathe.” Garret assured her. “This has been thoroughly tested.”
“You wouldn’t have let me come if it would harm the child.” Masako said from the seat next to him on the cramped bridge. It would normally have been the seat of the navigator but Garret was working both positions of pilot and navigator. Two final adjustments and the confluence of blue and green matters streams could be seen on either side of them as they approached the only known naturally-occurring jump point in the galaxy. They entered the point with the proscribed speed, at the right angle, and with the correct gravimetric settings. It felt like a very rough jump, but they came through in one piece, and a G-type star hung above them, albeit at a very safe distance.
“Where are we?” Masako asked with wide eyes.
“The greatest secret of House Atrix.” Garret told her with a wide smile before thumbing on the intercom. “Attention crew, that was an expected occurrence. There is no need to worry. We’ll be at our destination in thirty minutes. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay onboard while we’re there, but please avail yourself of what recreational opportunities this ship does provide.”
“By all the gods man’s every worshipped, I don’t believe this.” Masako said softly as Garret brought the ship around and they headed for a blue-green world that was nearby. A sensor scan showed a large station in orbit of the planet and already a ship was detaching, heading towards them. Masako pointed to the space station. “That looks like one of the first colony ships that left Earth and founded the Republic.”
“It is.” Garret said with a smile. “Back before the war, an Atrix scientific expedition found the gravitic anomaly we passed through. I’ll call up an aft-view. You can see the same confluence of green and blue matter streams, except here it’s spreading from the anomaly instead of into it.”
“What are they made of?” Masako asked.
“Elements from that white dwarf star and a nearby pulsar.” Garret answered. “In a few million years it’ll lose enough matter that it’ll go nova and this naturally occurring jump point will close forever. For now at least, it’ll allow two-way travel. Atrix studied it for decades trying to glean its marvels for possible use. They couldn’t solve the problem though, and when the war began this was turned into our bolt-hole. The old colony ship was found floating in space. Down on the planet they found about ten thousand survivors from the ship.”
“There should have been millions, hundreds of millions by now.” Masako said with a frown.
“Yes, but their ship was heavily damaged when they went through the jump point.” Garret explained as it had been told to him. He hadn’t been here in person yet, and would take a day or two to talk with those who knew better. “Nearly half the colonists died from a hull breach. To be honest, as well-built as they were, the old colonists ships don’t have the hull integrity we have, and we need our gravitic drives to make the transition safely. The slightest miscalculation will crush a ship.
“Anyway, they made orbit and sent the colonists down to the planet, counting their blessings a habitable planet was so close.” Garret continued. “Too bad for them most of their best medical equipment was lost in the transit and they encountered several local life forms that were particularly virulent. Within a few years, they were down to a few thousand people.”
“Will I need to be inoculated?” Masako asked in a worried expression.
“No.” Garret said with a smile. “Everyone on this ship has genetic alterations that make them immune to the diseases on the planet. The scientific team that found this jump point was lucky in that their gravitic drives were set correctly when they went through and they had a full medical facility on their exploration ship. Many of the genetic alterations that Atrix developed for clone soldiers in the early days of the war were first created based on experiences with this planet.”
“What is it’s name?” Masako asked.
“The locals called it hell at first, before we arrived.” Garret smiled. “They lost two out of four children and were barely keeping their population stable, much less growing.”
“It looks like a good planet.” Masako said.
“It’s beautiful, and in the last sixty years they’ve quintupled their population.” Garret said with a shrug. “House Atrix brought them out of the dark ages. In three hundred years the colonists had lost most technological advancement and reverted back to a type of pre-industrial civilization. They lived in paradise, but had to depend on stones and primitive black powder to defend from fairly serious predators. If we allowed scientists to come in and study them, they’d discover that this planet has some of the deadliest poisons, venoms, and most vicious predators humanity has ever encountered. With more advanced medicine and weapons, this planet has been much easier to tame and the locals welcomed us with open arms. They were originally offered to rejoin the Republic, but they are content to be affiliated with House Atrix and have even renamed the planet to Atrix.”
“Why haven’t they been interested in joining the Republic as their own world?” Masako asked.
“Because of where this system is located.” Garret said and he called up a map of known space.
“Oh my, that would make sense.” Masako said with a shake of her head. The boundaries of the Republic, the Empire, and the Federation were clearly delineated on the galactic map. The glowing dot was on the far side of the Sol Empire, beyond the great gulf that had only been explored at a very basic level. Most of the stars between this planet and Earth were new stars, with systems too young to have produced habitable planets and after forty years of exploration no ship had made it across the vast gulf to find this habitable planet on the far side.
“Approaching vessel, this is Atrix Guard, identify yourself and your intentions.” A crisp voice called as they neared the planet.
“This is Garret Atrix, Speaker of House Atrix.” Garret answered. “I am here to conduct an inspection of those who call themselves my people.”
“My lord, welcome to your true home.” The voice replied as Garret began his deceleration. It sounded almost delighted, and Garret wondered what was in store for him now.
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
Feedback,
an Author's Lifeblood
