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Episode 4 – Home, part 5

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

Just squeezing through the doorway, Pirra whistled a shrill curse as something clunked in her bag.

“Was that one of the gifts?” Alexander asked.

“No,” she said, truly unsure, but knowing they had precious little time to check right now.

With over ten thousand people leaving the ship, getting on one of the shuttles to Plucharon Station was insanely difficult.  Allowance for tardiness wasn’t being tolerated, not with the numbers they had to deal with.

And they had to catch their flight to the inner-system, or else their entire time-table would be thrown off.

There was still time, though, she felt sure.  But they couldn’t stop.

“Are you sure?” he asked, heaving up a bag on his shoulders and wincing.  “God, how tightly did you pack this?”

“It’s not that heavy,” she chided.

“I don’t have your augments,” he muttered.  “It’s got to be almost fourteen kilos.”

“Well, I had to bring my wing covers, it’s important to look good,” Pirra replied matter-of-factly.

“You’ve met my parents before,” he said.  “And how many did you bring?”

“Six,” she replied.

“Six?  We’re only going to be there for two days!  Why do you need more than two?”

She knew her expression – crest rising purely vertical, eyes opening as wide as she could, had to look, to him, like a massive overreaction.

But she was scandalized.

“I need at least two per day!” she said.  “And what if one of them gets dirty?  Do you expect me to be in front of your parents with dirty wings?”  She looked away, making a sound of emotional pain.

It wasn’t feigned on her part, and she definitely was not vain by her own kind’s standards.  It would be humiliating if she ran into that situation.

“It’s too late, anyway, we have to hurry,” she said.

Alexander sighed and tromped after her, bearing up with the weight of the bag hanging from one shoulder.

He could handle it, but it’d be uncomfortable for their journey to the station.  Maybe she did over-estimate his strength sometimes.  Even though his limbs were massively thicker than any of her kind, Dessei muscles were more efficient, rendering the two species loosely similar in strength.

Still, even as a thin human, he looked positively swole to a Dessei.

She felt a tug on her sleeve, and distractedly looked down.

It was a boy, Elliot, the son of Iago Caraval.  She knew him well.

“Dad asked me to come and tell you he wishes you both a safe trip,” the boy said.

“Oh, thanks Elliot.  Tell your dad to focus on feeling better,” Pirra replied, trying to force her smile while juggling the luggage in her hands.

“Okay,” the boy replied.  He seemed disgruntled, and Pirra knew he must be worried about his father.  “He wanted to come himself but Dr. Loogie didn’t give him permission.”

Though Caraval seemed much better the last time Pirra had seen him, he was still confined to quarters for a few more days, she knew, pending Dr. Logus’s approval.

“Elliot!” Alexander said, shifting the bag on his shoulder.  “Don’t call him that.  It’s Logus.”

“That’s what I said,” Elliot replied innocently.  “Anyway, see ya later!”  He ran off down the hall, yelling back over his shoulder.

The door three meters away opened, and a familiar face peered out.

“Sorry Tred,” she said before he could talk.  “I’ll try to remember to be quieter in the future.”

He seemed half-sorry himself, and half annoyed.  “You said that last time.”

“I’m in a hurry,” Pirra replied curtly, and pushed on down the hall.

This bag was so lumpy.  It wasn’t heavy, but it managed to be awkwardly large, and she couldn’t let it swing at her side without bashing her legs.  Why did he have to bring so many gifts?  She wasn’t aware that that was a standard human thing, and giving people things always seemed odd to her.  There were few things one could give that were worth keeping.

She saw the time flash in her system HUD.  They’d wasted too much time, and now they needed to really rush.

“Hurry, Alex!” she said, breaking into a run, almost crashing into the Apollonia girl as she came out of her own cabin.

“Sorry, excuse me,” Pirra breathed, hurrying on.

Alexander said more sedately as he passed her next; “Excuse us, we just have to catch our shuttle.”

“Me too,” Apollonia replied.  “Mind if I just follow you?”

Alexander had gone on, but shook his head.  “Not a problem, just keep up!”

< Ep 4 Part 4 | Ep 4 Part 6 >

Episode 4 – Home, part 4

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“Y!  I’m going to Earth!” Apollonia said excitedly over the comm.

“You seem quite excited,” the doctor replied.  “I am very happy for you, Nor!  Is there someplace in particular you wish to experience?”

The question actually caught her off-guard.  She hadn’t given much thought to where she was going to go; she didn’t really know of many particular places by name, barring some of the large Ark Cities.

“I . . . guess just to see the homeworld?” she replied.  “Have you ever gone there?  What would you recommend?”

Dr. Y seemed to hesitate in answering.  “No, I have not been to Earth before.  I hear nice things about it from members of the crew, however.”

She would have thought he’d been everywhere.

“Well, I don’t know if you have any free time or anything but . . . do you want to go with me?” she asked hopefully.

Dr. Y hesitated again.  “I am sorry to say that that is not really an option for me at this time, Nor.  I am still very busy with work.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said.  “Hopefully I can see you before I go, at least.”

“I am positive you will,” he replied.

For a moment, she smiled.  Then he continued.

“As you need to get several more vaccines if you are going down planetside.”

“What?  Why?  You gave me so many already!”

“And those are all still valid,” Y replied.  “However, you will be exposed to yet more diseases on a planet.  They are, after all, teeming with life.”

Her brow furrowed and her mouth turned into a scowl.  “Just how important is it that I get them?”

“You will not be allowed onto Earth without them,” he said.  “Some actually serve to kill off non-Earth microbes that you may be harboring that could pose a danger to the natural biome of Earth.”

“Oh,” she replied.  “Just how many are we talking?”

“Only seven,” Y replied happily.

“Dark take me,” she moaned.

“This is to prevent that,” Y said.  “Now, I have you scheduled for a 1300 appointment.  Will that work for you?”

The Craton had a crew complement of nearly 20,000 beings.

Brooks looked over a tenth that number, arrayed before him in serried ranks.  Their dress uniforms smart, metal gleaming.  All at attention, waiting for his words.

He’d looked over a much different crowd not long ago, people joining into the Sapient Union.  He’d felt a pride then, and he felt a different kind of pride now.  The people of New Vitriol had been entering into something that would enable them to change their lives for the better.

These men and women had climbed higher still, joining the elite of the voidfleet and rising to join one of the finest crews on the finest ships in the Sapient Union.

“Before his official departure from duty, the Captain will be conducting an inspection,” Urle said.  His voice was artificially amplified, reaching every ear easily.

Those officers and crew who could not be in the room with them watched from elsewhere, only those on the most essential duty still at work.

It was rare for so many of the ship’s crew to not be on duty.  The infinite emptiness of space was hostile, and they could not let their guard down.

But now, with the ship in the home port, surrounded by pickets and friendlies uncountable, it was, they were, at long last, safe.

He’d have liked to stand before the entire crew, but there was no space on the entire ship large enough for all of them to comfortably fit.  Even fitting a mere 2,000 filled the largest room on the ship.  Normally it was a storage room, but it had been cleared to create temporary housing for the emigres from MS-29.  With it emptied, its occupants now in queues to leave the ship, and the walls taken down in haste by Commander Sulp, there was just enough space.

Brooks stepped up as Urle moved aside.  He said nothing, but walked down the row swiftly.  Urle was surprised, and moved to follow him.

“Lt. Srul,” Brooks said to a man, smiling.  “You were on the bridge crew of the Kilimanjaro at Terris, weren’t you?”

The man smiled.  “Yes, sir.  I was pulling my second shift when everything went south and you pulled us out.”

“I recall you did well.  I was saddened when you transferred to Quartermasters, though I’m sure you do them credit now.”

He moved on.  His system could have told him the name of every crew member he saw, but he knew many of them just from memory.

He stopped to speak to some – Sturmer, who’d been a midshipman on the Sunspot, the first ship Brooks had served upon.  May, who had been in his same year at the Voidfleet Academy.  Chi, who he’d helped through the jitters of her first deployment.  And so many others; Hensel, Inderhock, Postemsky, Nizami, Xiao, Anh, Keita . . .

He took care to look to every face he could, to show just the hint of a confident smile that calmed the nervous and bolstered the already-strong.

There were so many he could not hope to reach, no matter how much he wished.  If only life had enough time that he could get to know all of them, he thought.

Every single face in that crowd – human or alien – had a story to their lives.  Their own hopes and dreams and fears.  Fully realized beings.

He reached the end of the row, gazing to the last face, then began a slower walk, returning to the middle.

“It is an honor to serve with you all,” he said as he walked, his voice now amplified.  “You are the finest crew I could ask for, serving on the best ship in the Sapient Union.  I leave my station soon, to attend a hearing on Earth.  But I shall return, one way or another.

“In my absence, you are in the hands of Acting-Captain Urle.  He has my full confidence.”

Stopping his stride, Brooks turned to face them all head on, and gave a slight bow.

“For the years we’ve served together and the years yet to come – I thank you all.”

“Salute!” Urle cried.

As one, two thousand beings brought their hands to their brows to salute their captain.

< Ep 4 Part 3 | Ep 4 Part 5 >

Episode 4 – Home, part 3

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“Please list all rules and regulations related to assumed command if the captain is unavailable or incapacitated,” the electronic voice asked her.

“Oh fuck,” Apollonia muttered.

“That is not a rule or regulation,” it helpfully said.  “If you would like to check your book, feel free now.”

She was tempted, but it felt like a cowardly move.  Surely this wasn’t really supposed to help her learn when she could just check?

“You can look,” Jaya noted, glancing up from her desk.  “This is an early exam.  The point is not to catch you being wrong, but to help you become comfortable navigating information, Ms. Nor.  No one knows all the rules and regulations early on.”

“I spent all last night studying,” Apollonia replied.  “I know this.”

Ever since she’d told Jaya that she wanted to join the crew, the woman had been helping her to prepare for her Command Aptitude Test.

It was much more than simply a written test, she’d been told, but precisely what it would be was not something Jaya could tell her.

“Like with actual duty, we cannot prepare for every eventuality.  We must learn precepts that prepare us to act in the face of calamity,” the Commander had told her.

Looking back at the screen, Apollonia knew she could do it.  She’d never had a lot of chance to get schooling, besides the automated programs for children on Vitriol.

But she’d wanted to learn.  She began to input the answers to the question.

Regulation 71.a stipulated that the Executive Commander took charge if the Captain was out of action.

72.a stated that in absence of the Executive Commander, the Chief of Operations would take control.

That one had surprised her; Jaya was a serious woman, clearly at the top of her field.  But Apollonia hadn’t known she was third in line to command the ship.

It had to entail a lot of responsibility.  But despite that, Jaya had taken the time, gone out of her way, to help a complete moron like herself.

Looking over her answers, Apollonia really didn’t feel like she was doing a great job.  These questions had just stuck in her mind, but she didn’t think she’d really learned the rules that well yet.

She added two more.  Each time she completed one, it noted her success, and showed the exact wording if she was off.

She’d missed two, but she’d gotten eight.  That was good, right?

The next question was regarding rules about foreign nationals on the ship – another one she’d found herself interested in during her readings.  It was lucky they were asking things she actually knew.

When the next question had also been on a topic she’d found interesting – that of rations for crew – she frowned.

“It seems like this is just asking me about the things I remember the best.  But how can it know?”

Jaya glanced up again.  “You are correct.  Your system – all of our systems – notice where our eyes go, what catches our interest.  Right now it is attempting to drill those aspects into your mind.  It helps to form a core or basis for further learning.”

Apollonia stared.  “You mean it’s watching me all the time?”

“Whenever you’re looking at it.  You need not worry; all personal biometric data is kept internally in your system.  It is entirely normal.”

“It’s creepy,” she said.

“Observation is universal and ubiquitous in the Sapient Union, Ms. Nor.  We are an extremely open society, and we believe that it helps us all stay safe and free.  Of course we have privacy at times it is appropriate, but-“

“Would it turn someone in?  If they committed a crime,” Apollonia asked.

“That is a complex question – but no, they do not do that.  It is unnecessary and helps people feel comfortable with their privacy – and helps prevent people from tampering with them to gain some sort of ‘edge’.  But since many actions cause your system to connect to external systems, or you simply move within the scanning range of other systems, those ones will typically note illegal behaviour.  It’s not a common occurrence, however.”

“But we are being monitored.”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t that ever bother you?” Apollonia asked.

“Perhaps if I had not grown up in it, it would.  Or if our conditions were those of an exploited class, watched by rulers who only viewed us as sources of profit or potential criminals, yes.  But for me, I feel a simple comfort knowing that we do not have terrorism, no one need live in fear.  Not of attack, and not of want or privation.”  She hesitated, then nodded, as if admitting a caveat.  “Save for in times of disaster.”

“Does that happen often?” Apollonia asked, sitting back and watching the woman curiously.

“There are nearly 15,000 human-colonized systems, and many times that in the entire Sapient Union.  By dint of the sheer scale of our civilization, yes, somewhere within it there is a crisis going on at this moment.  Likely not a massive one, but perhaps a colony is having a problem with its fusion reactors, or miners believe they are being mistreated and someone is attempting to hide dirty deeds.  When such things happen, we learn of them because of the openness of our society and are able to respond swiftly and effectively to make sure it is put right.”

“Okay,” Apollonia said.  What Jaya said made logical sense; without knowing about a problem it couldn’t be fixed.  But, even though the officers she had personally met so far had seemed to be good people, it seemed impossible to think that all of them, everywhere, were.

“So how do you make sure that-“

She was cut off by a beep from her tablet.  Looking down, she saw a priority alert.  She’d set her system to block anything less than that.

“You should take that,” Jaya noted.

Clicking on the message, she just saw text.

“Your presence has been requested at Earth Command Headquarters,” it read, and she saw that Captain Brooks was the sender.

“You are not required to go, but I highly recommend it.  Transport will be provided.  Pack your bags and be ready to leave by 1600 hours.”

She looked up to Jaya, her face in shock.

“I’m going to see Earth,” she breathed.

< Ep 4 Part 2 | Ep 4 Part 4 >

Episode 4 – Home, part 2

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“. . . due to the nature of the issue in question, Captain, I am afraid that your hearing cannot be arbitrated or judged by any of our legal AIs.”

“Nature of the issue?” Brooks asked.

“The fact that it involves zerospace . . . tenkionic matter.  It makes it highly dangerous to expose as powerful an AI as our justice machines to anything that could potentially be corruptive.”

“I see,” Brooks said.  “Will it be a panel, then?”

“Yes,” he was told.  The voice was faceless, audio only, but he knew he was speaking to the Director of Fleet Law in the Justice Bureau, Davij Kernos.  “A tribunal consisting of System Admiral Vandoss, Director Kressin of the Research Bureau, and myself.  Several other directors will also be functioning as questioners and observers.

“While you are gone, Brooks, Executive Commander Urle will be acting captain.”

“And if I am found to have been negligent in my duties, as Director Freeman has claimed?” Brooks asked.

“Then Urle will remain in command until a new Captain is selected for the Craton,” Kernos replied.  “You will be subject to a recall election as Mayor of the ship as well.”

“I understand,” Brooks replied.  “Thank you, Director.  I’ll see you in a few days.”

The link ended, and Brooks turned in his seat to address the officers who had been waiting.

The tension pulled their faces into stressed lines, and he spoke.

“Zach, you heard – you’ll be in command while I’m gone.  Jaya, I’d like you to function as his Executive Officer if you don’t mind.”  A wry smile went onto his face.  “According to protocol, I am off-duty once the ship reaches port, so I cannot order you.”

“Of course, Captain,” Jaya replied.

“The ship will be in top shape when you return, Captain,” Urle said.

A warmth blossomed in Brooks’s chest, and he nodded.  “Zeela, would you begin the recall election procedures?”

“I will, Captain,” she said, her eyes darting to the other officers before settling on him.

Dr. Y had said nothing, and Brooks looked to him.  “What are you thinking, Doctor?”

“I am thinking, Captain, that this action makes no sense.  Director Freeman gave you a senseless order – how to keep someone alive whose existence we do not understand?  You did nothing.”

“I agree,” Brooks said.  “I know that Freeman is . . . often open with his emotions, but he’s not stupid.  Having me brought up on charges seems like an outburst, and while it might be easy to believe he’d do that, I’m skeptical.”

“Do you think it’s someone other than him?” Zach asked, brow furrowing.

“I don’t know,” Brooks replied.  “I think it’s more likely that there’s something not obvious here, something we’re missing.  Is this a power-grab for authority from the Medical Department?”

“A power grab,” Jaya said.  “What have the times come to?  Anti-corruption measures have kept this sort of selfishness under control for centuries.”

“No system is perfect,” Brooks replied.  “Perhaps some corruption will sneak into a system like ours.  On certain timescales, it starts to seem inevitable.”

He rose from his desk.  “But even if this is the case, I believe we’ll come through – I will not be found guilty of charges as nonsense as these.”

“Exactly,” Y said.  “You cannot be found guilty.  As far as anyone can prove logically, no one did anything to kill Michal Denso.  No one knows his cause of death.  How, then, could it possibly be your fault, Captain?”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Brooks said.

“I am sorry to say that I do not mean it as a reassuring statement, Captain.  It concerns me more than if I believed Director Freeman genuinely wanted to exact revenge upon you with these charges.  Instead, as you have guessed, there is something else that is going on.  The fact that we do not know what it is means that we cannot take counter-actions.”

Y’s words were astute, and Brooks could see in the eyes of his officers that they saw it, too.

“Captain,” Zeela said, clearly trying to cheer the conversation.  “Seeing as I manage all campaign information distribution, is there any verbal point you’d like me to make to the citizens of the Craton?”

“No,” he told her.  “I’ll tell them myself.”

< Ep 4 Part 1 | Ep 4 part 3 >

Episode 4 – Home, part 1

Captain Mayor Brooks 9 Comments

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here!

Other-Terrestrial

Episode 4

“Home”

by Nolan Conrey

Captain Brooks’s Log:

We return to the Sol system, and home.

After the events on Medical Station 29, my actions – or apparently lack thereof – under the orders of Director Freeman of the Research Bureau have led to an investigation being called.

I do not know what the outcome of such an inquiry will be, but I have full confidence that my actions will be judged fairly.  The lingering question is why this is being called at all.

I have absolved all of my officers of any guilt, and I believe they are not targets in this witch-hunt.

In light of that, it would not do to let this issue that stands to affect only myself to sour the mood of our return to the home system, which is considered a fantastic day at any other time.  For some, it has an almost spiritual meaning to once again be under the light of our own sun.

The Craton will soon enter the outer edges of the system.  We will be stopping first at the fringe, 40 AU from the Sun.  Ships with drives like ours are not allowed to enter into inhabited systems, so from there, we will all have to take shuttles through dashgates further in.

It will be nice to go see home again.

“Preparing to surface in realspace.”

The ship seemed to lurch as they came back into reality.  In moments, the screens on the bridge came back online, showing around them not just a familiar universe, but a place that was known to nearly every member of the crew.

The Sol system.

The home system, at least for humanity – and Shoggoths.  For most of their history the only star they knew intimately.

“Welcome home,” Brooks said aloud.

Someone whooped and clapped, and Brooks’s face split into a grin.

Most humans nowadays were not born under Sol’s light, but nonetheless it was a special moment for them all to return.

Looking over, Brooks saw Apollonia staring with a fascination at the image of the sun.

“Where’s Earth?” she asked.

Urle pointed, and a circle appeared on the screen.

Apollonia squinted.  “I can’t see it.”

“The sun hides it at this distance,” Urle explained.  “If we hide the corona, well-“

The glow around the sun dimmed, and there was now a single speck encircled.

“It’s not even blue from here,” she commented.

“Plucharon Control has given us an approach vector,” Ji-Min Bin said.  “We are on course, and will begin port-entry procedures in twenty-five minutes.”

The ship was coming around, Apollonia could see from the shifting view of stars.  She could feel just the slightest hint of the rotation.

‘Plucharon’ came into view, and her eyes widened.

She’d heard of Pluto and Charon; twin dwarf planets orbiting each other at the edge of the system.  They’d become kind of a symbol of entry into the Sol system, the first port of call of any ship that headed towards the homeworld.

And she’d even heard that the two worlds were tidally-locked, perpetually facing each other and at the same distance.  That they’d even been connected by a bridge almost 20,000 kilometers long.  Since their connection, they’d gained the nickname of ‘Plucharon’.

But her imagination had never done it justice.

The ‘bridge’ was a thin line between the two bodies, yet it glowed with lights.  The distance between the two was almost eight times the diameter of Pluto itself.

“How thick is the bridge?” she asked.

“At the base, it’s about 150 kilometers across,” Urle said.  “It thins as it goes, of course, though at the center you have the central station.  And around it there are a lot of rotating rings and ships and attendant stations.  Thickens out its look quite a bit.”

“Are those ships?” she asked, pointing at a cluster of lights.

“Those are guidance beacons, they light up as we near them,” Urle explained, ever-happy to be the font of knowledge.  “Besides the lights, they send out a lot of telemetry data – just helps make sure every ship knows where everyone else is.”

“Are there are a lot of other ships?” Apollonia asked, stepping closer to his chair.  She could have sat, but she was a bit too excited.

“Oh, yes.  A cursory check says . . . about seven hundred others on approach vectors, and over ten times that already docked or just nearby.”  He beckoned her to lean over and see his screen, where hundreds of circles appeared.  Each circle wasn’t just one ship, but encompassed anywhere from ten to several hundred.

“Dark,” Apollonia breathed.  “That’s a hell of a lot of ships.  Isn’t there any danger of them crashing into each other?”

“Space is big,” Urle replied simply.  “This isn’t even a significant portion of the Sol fleet.  The bulk of them will be at the naval base around Neptune.  Each planet has its own attendant fleet, at least until the frost line.”

At her look of confusion, he clarified.  “As far in as Jupiter.”

“Earth doesn’t have ships?”

“It does, but mostly smaller ones.  There’s a lot of habitation cylinders there, satellites too, it’s a pretty busy area of space, so it’s best to keep things from getting too hectic.”

She frowned.  “But what if someone attacked it?”

He tilted his head, clearly finding the question odd.  “There are a whole lot of automated defense satellites and stations – they’d intercept someone foolish enough to try to jump straight to Earth.  They can even neutralize some pretty hefty asteroids.”

“I will be in my study,” Brooks said suddenly, rising from his chair.

Apollonia watched him.  His expression was severe, and she felt a strange intensity from him, quite different from the general happy mood.  But she didn’t say anything.

Urle rose a moment later.  “Executive Officer leaving the bridge,” he announced.

Jaya also rose, and a chubby blonde woman whose name Apollonia did not even remember rose as well.  Maybe it was Zann.

Fumbling with her pad, she saw that the woman’s name was Zeela Cann, Chief of Administration.

“Show me where Dr. Y is,” she asked, hoping it could do that.

It did; his location appeared, in his office.  But then it blinked out and suddenly appeared again in Brooks’s study.  He must have done his body-switching thing again, deactivating one and turning on another.

For a moment, it struck her as crazy that she could track the officers on the ship.  The amount of information about everyone that was just public was staggering.  She wondered if stalking was ever a problem.

A message popped up.  It was from Dr. Y.

“Is there a reason you are tracking my whereabouts?  I do not mind, but I do think you should know, Apollonia, that people can see if you are doing that.”

She closed the app in a burst of panic.

They knew?

Well.  Now it made more sense why they felt safe being tracked . . .

The fact that they were all getting together seemed odd.  Normally Brooks would openly call for a meeting, rather than simply leaving.

It struck her that something was going on.  She hadn’t been told, which . . . actually made sense, but she didn’t like it.

She wasn’t going to do anything stupid to find out what, but her curiosity was itching.  If it concerned her, they’d probably tell her, right?

< Ep 3 Part 60 | Ep 4 Part 2 >

Episode 3 – Trauma part 60

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“And here we are again, Nor,” Dr. Y said.  “I admit, you had me quite worried when you showed up here bleeding from every orifice.  Yet now you are as healthy as you can be.”  He paused.  “Though I believe it would be healthier if you gained some weight.”

“Do you have to say orifice?” she asked.  “I hate that word.”

“If the name of medical exactitude, it serves a function.  I could use other terms that are more colloquial, but they may be equally objectionable,” Y said.  “Or even list off the . . .  apertures . . . in question.  Nostrils, ears-“

“You know what?” she said.  “Orifice is fine.”

“Excellent,” Dr. Y replied.  “Now, as happy as I always am to see you, I must encourage you to move about your own day.  Unfortunately, I am quite busy.”

Y looked around, then leaned closer and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper.  “The medical staff from the Chain are far from healthy!  How absurd – doctors taking poor care of themselves!  They should know better.”

Apollonia smiled and let out a small laugh.  “Well, they’re busy . . . do you take good care of yourself?”

Y paused, studying her.  “I do not have a physical condition to consider, unless you count these bodies, and the automated systems keep them in quite good repair.  Mentally?  Well, I would not say that my kind have a healthy norm, as we are all quite individual and unique.  But . . . to answer the spirit of your question, I believe I do.”

“Keep away from the smoke and the drugs, doctor,” Apollonia said, jumping lightly off the bed.

“That I shall,” he promised.  “Oh, and Nor-“

“Yes?”

“I am glad you have decided to stay on the ship.”

She stared for a moment.  “Thanks,” she said.  “Can I ask you one last thing?”

“Of course,” he replied amiably.  His head continued to face her, but his body turned away, moving with extreme efficiency to disinfect the surfaces she’d just been touching.

“You’ve been busy since we got to the Chain, haven’t you?” she asked.

“Since before, even,” he said.  “I’ve actually been working 24 hours a day since the Craton reached New Vitriol.  There has been much work, and much has been accomplished.  I am pleased.”

“Do you ever get tired?” she asked.

He paused again.  “I do,” he said.  “I have told you I am fallible.  I can suffer from exhaustion, even burnout.  I . . . have before.  You asked me if I was healthy, and well – I do try.  Because in the past I have failed at caring for my own well-being, and it came to the detriment of others as well as myself.”

She nodded soberly.  “I hope you can rest, soon,” she said.

“Thank you, Nor,” he replied.

“When you came to talk to me in place of Dr. Logus, that was a sacrifice for you, wasn’t it?”

“I would not phrase it thusly, but – in a sense, yes, I had to place other tasks aside.”

Apollonia was shocked.  “And you’re not even a psychiatrist, are you?  It’s not part of your duty?”

“No . . .” Y replied.

“Why did you do that for me?”

He hesitated, then turned fully towards her and spread his hands open.

“Because you are my friend, Nor.”

Urle came to attention.

“Executive Commander reporting for return to duty, sir,” he said.

“At ease,” Brooks told him.  “It’s good to have you back, Zach.”

“I’m glad that I can do something again,” the man said.  “But . . . I do appreciate the time you gave me, sir.”

Brooks gave his old friend a nod.  “I’ve sent your schedule to your system.  Right now I’ve got you taking second watch and after that you’ll function as liaison with the commander of the emigrants from the Chain.”

Urle nodded.  “All right.  May I ask, Captain – what was it that happened on MS-29?”

Brooks took a breath.  “I am still not at liberty to tell you, Zach, I’m sorry.  I know you’d like to understand more – I would as well.  But we know very little.”

“I know it had to do with things related to zerospace,” Zach said.  “Does Kell know more?  Is he still keeping quiet on all this?  He’s never very up front . . .”

Brooks let out a long breath.  “Ambassador Kell is in much deeper than usual, I’ll say that much.  To be honest . . . I’m not sure what’s going to happen with it.  Director Freeman-“

“I’m sorry, Captain – Freeman was here?”

“Yes,” Brooks told him.  “That part is public record, as he came in Research One.  But I can’t say more than that, save for the fact that he is very displeased with how things went.  Or . . . was.  I feel like there are internal politics games going on here, to be honest.”

A beep alerted him to a message.

“That’s top priority from Earth,” Zach noted, recognizing the tone.

Brooks nodded, his brow furrowing in concern.  “Just text,” he said, bringing it up.

His eyes scanned over it, and then he looked back to Urle, his expression only growing more solemn.

“We’ve been summoned back to the Sol System,” he said.  “Back to Earth.  It seems that Director Freeman has seen fit to charge me with insubordination and dereliction of duty.”

< Ep 3 Part 59 | Episode 4 Part 1 >

Episode 3 – Trauma part 59

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

Standing in the doorway to Jaya’s office, Apollonia knocked on the wall to get her attention.

The commander turned around to face her.

“You know, the system informed me that you were here.  You do not need to knock on my wall.”

“Just habit,” Apollonia replied absently.  “But I came down here to . . . well, to tell you that I’ve decided to accept the offer you guys made.  Well, the Captain, and I guess you.  You guys want me to join up and all that . . .”

Her words tumbled out, and her sentence trailed off.

Jaya arched an eyebrow.  “You seem uncertain, Ms. Nor.”

“No, I’m not!” she said.  “Honestly I feel this is right.  I just . . . Maybe it’s pride.  I feel like I’m giving in or something, by doing this.  But I’ve thought about it a lot – along with a few other things – over the last few days.  I know you wanted an answer more promptly than this, but I do want to have more control over my life.  While I know I’ll be accepting some new restrictions by joining, I also think it will help give me the tools to control myself better.”

Jaya listened, her face passive but attentive, and Apollonia rambled on, not meeting the other woman’s eye.

“I wake up and I don’t know how to take care of myself beyond simply existing.  I grew up with just making it through that day being the goal.  I can’t even keep a steady sleep schedule, I don’t think about trying to be my best.”

She let out a breath, and turned to look Jaya squarely on.  “I need structure.  And help.  But I’m ready to do something, to be part of something.”

Jaya rose slowly to her feet, and held out her hand.

“Welcome to the crew, Apollonia.”

Now two days out from the death of Michal Denso, the situation around Medical Station 29 finally seems to be returning to a semblance of normalcy.

After claiming possession of Denso’s body, Director Freeman’s ship departed early in the morning watch.   He left no standing orders or communications with either myself or Admiral-Doctor Urle before doing so, leaving me to wonder just what the long-term repercussions will be.  I am as content with my conduct – and Verena’s conduct – as I can be whenever the issue pertains to Leviathans.

Response Team One’s return only a few hours ago was a relief, and Dr. Logus has reported that his initial talks with Lt. Commander Caraval suggest he has suffered no lasting damage – but that the man should be temporarily removed from command of the team.  I have agreed to this suggestion, and will be giving Caraval at least two weeks of recovery time before we consider his return to duty.

Dr. Logus and I . . .  I have considered that I owe him an apology for my conduct.  I have, at times, viewed him in an adversarial light when I should be better than that.

It is something to think on.

At 0800 we will be leaving the Chain.  Though we came here to bring life and safety to the helpless of New Vitriol, we leave with ten thousand and seven hundred who are seeking better lives.

It is time to bring them home.

< Ep 3 Part 58 | Ep 3 Part 60 >

Episode 3 – Trauma part 58

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“Verena, thank god you’re okay . . .” Zach said.

His eyes were visible today, and his eyebrows angled inwards in a way that she recognized as being very strong concern.

She wasn’t sure why he was concerned now, though.  It was over, and she had a clean bill of health.

“My condition was never serious, it was only a precaution,” she told him.

“I had no idea what was going on,” Zach said.  “They tell me that you went into a room filled with krahteons and . . . something.  They won’t say what, but then you were unconscious and put in the ICU.”

“It was nothing.  Apollonia’s presence evidently creates an area of safety.  Though I do not know how.”

Zach said nothing for a time, and she was content to let the silence linger.  She was still feeling weak, truth be told, but it was fading and she was going to be discharged in a few hours.

“When you’re up to it, I think we need to talk about the kids,” Zach said, breaking the peace.

Ah, she saw now . . .  this was still weighing heavily on his mind.

And now that he had brought it up, she knew it was important.

For years, as much as she tried, she had wanted to feel that spark, the love for her children that every mother was supposed to have.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love them.  She simply felt nothing.

But she knew she was supposed to.  She could recall memories of looking at them, that at those times emotions had been so strong in her that she had barely been able to take it.

She looked again, now, hoping for that little spark she had felt earlier of humor.

And she realized she was hoping.

“Verena?” Zach asked, seeing a change come over her face.

It was gone already.  The feeling left as quickly as it had come.  It hadn’t been love, it hadn’t been frustration.  Just a slight, vague sense of hope.

It was . . . something.

“We can talk about it now,” she said to him.

“I . . .  I don’t think we can move onto the station as you wanted,” Zach said.  “I’m sorry, but-“

“It’s all right,” she said, putting a hand up to his face.  His mouth was covered by a triangular plate, and she brushed her fingertips over it.

She hadn’t wanted to hear his reasons.  Even though she knew they’d be correct.

“It isn’t a good idea,” she admitted.  “For many reasons.  For their happiness, for your career, for . . . for my patients,” she said.  It was unusually difficult to speak, and she was not sure why.  Was this a spark of emotion?  On some level?

She didn’t know.  She wasn’t sure she’d even recognize them when they came.  If they kept coming.

“Perhaps one day, it will be different,” she continued softly.

“There may still be options to help you,” Zach said.  “I know you’ve had surgeries and treatments, but artificial emotion chips are becoming better and better-“

“Shh,” she said softly.  “There is . . . a chance they might work, Zach.  But I doubt it . . . and . . . something I’ve realized is that . . .”

She looked up and met Zach’s eyes.  There were tears in them.

“I’ve realized that my condition allows me to do this job,” she said.  “A job that no one else can handle.  Exactly what has broken me as a person allows me to thrive here, and help many, many people.”

She pulled her hand away from his face, looking to her own.  “And as much as I could walk away, how much I might want to, if I felt . . . I’d still remember all that I’ve seen.  And I do not know if I could live with the pain.”

Zach said nothing.  The tears welling in his eyes had broken free, coursing down his face.

Again a silence fell, and Zach wept, shaking for her and himself and their daughters.

Verena did not like it.  But she did not look away, and she knew that he might be somewhat comforted if she put her hand on his.

And after a time, it seemed to have helped, she thought.

“I . . . I should go,” he said, after some time.

She could tell from his face and eyes that he was still overwhelmed.  But he would make it through, she knew.  He was strong enough.

“Goodbye, Zachariah,” she said to him.

“Goodbye, Verena.”

Zach rose and left the room, glancing back at her once, with an expression she could not decipher.

Then he was gone.

It was for the best.

< Ep 3 Part 57 | Ep 3 Part 59 >

Episode 3 – Trauma part 57

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“This is your failure, Brooks!  I tasked you with keeping Denso alive, and you could not even do that!” Director Freeman all-but screamed.

Brooks said nothing, watching the man with a strange calmness.

At first, when he had arrived, Brooks had felt some measure of guilt.  He had been given orders, and though the orders were wrong, he had failed to carry them out.  It wasn’t that he was a slave to anyone above him who gave a command, but he had, for all of his career, prided himself on being a good officer.

But that feeling had evaporated as Director Freeman went on his warpath.

Since his arrival and learning of Michal Denso’s death, the man had harangued everyone he’d encountered, from the ensign who had brought him to Brooks’s office, to the doctors of MS-29, to Brooks himself.

“I am unable to prevent death, Director,” Brooks said calmly.  “Denso’s condition is one we do not understand.”

“Spare me your excuses,” Freeman sneered.  “I should never have entrusted you with this, Brooks.  You’re as unstable and inconsistent as the day you were first given a command.  I knew then-“

Brooks felt a heat of anger rise through him.  His own career had been a difficult one, and Freeman had been as clear then as he was being now about his view of placing command into Brooks’s hands.  But it still angered him.

Still, he thought, he was glad to take the heat in place of Verena.  After all she had been through, today and in the past, it was all he could do to spare her this.

Perhaps it wouldn’t have bothered her, he thought, entirely tuning out Freeman’s rant.  But it was his penance for failing to protect her when she had been under his command in the past.  A bill he’d never been able to pay.  This wasn’t much, but it was something.

Freeman was still talking to him, and Brooks occasionally nodded.  While he rarely did anyone the disservice of tuning them out, he’d learned early that he was very good at making people think he was listening to them.

“I think, Director, you had unrealistic expectations,” Brooks said.  “From what I have been told, Michal Denso could not be euthanized by normal means.  How, then, were we to know by what means he could be kept alive if his condition worsened.”

The man scowled, his lips pulling back from his teeth as he prepared another tirade.

His behaviour was uncouth, to say the least.  Shocking in most systems of the Sapient Union, to show this much anger.  But Freeman had always been an odd case, standing out from the others in government.  He was from a colony where emotional outbursts were viewed as much more normal, but even in that light he took it to an extreme.

An alert beeped.

Brooks cleared his throat.  “Ambassador Kell is at the door, Director, requesting to come in.”

“The Ambassador?”  Freeman repeated.  His previous words died on his lips without a second thought.  “Oh, very well . . . let him in.”

He knew that Freeman had a fascination with Shoggoths, though apparently there had been . . . incidents between him and them before that left the man with a dislike of them.  But he often seemed to find an excuse to interact with them anyway, in his interests of advancing his understanding of zerospace.

The door opened and Kell came in.

Something about him seemed diminished, Brooks thought immediately.  Like a man who had been starved and had just started to move about again.  His strength not yet fully recovered.

But Freeman did not seem to have noticed.

“Ah, Ambassador.  To what do we owe the-“

“I understand you are upset over Michal Denso’s death,” Kell interrupted.

Freeman said nothing for a moment, mulling the words over.  “You might say that,” he finally answered.

“Evidently you wished to . . . study him,” Kell continued.

“This is not your concern, Ambassador.  But yes, the man was a potential source of great knowledge-“

“That was foolish,” Kell said.  “You dabble like a child in something you can barely understand.”

“We understand more than you think, Ambassador,” Freeman hissed back.

“No,” Kell corrected.  “You are capable of only barely understanding it, in the theoretical.  Currently, you know nothing about it.  You are a fool, staggering in the dark, and you keep insist on yelling.”  Kell shook his head in the most blatant expression of disgust Brooks had seen him make.  “You make yourselves prey through your actions.  And you wonder why events like Terris happen?”

The last part shocked Brooks as much as Freeman.

“How dare you, Ambassador-“

“I am not finished,” Kell said, his voice booming.  “You have come onto this ship and are blaming Captain Brooks for the death of Denso?  That is absurd.  Brooks could no more have caused the death of the thing you refer to as Michal Denso than he could return to the Earth by walking.”

“Ambassador, this conversation is finished!” Freeman said.

“I killed Michal Denso,” Kell said, meeting Freeman’s eyes with an unblinking stare.  “You may ask Dr. Urle when she awakens.  Or Apollonia Nor.  They will tell you – though I was not present physically, I was there.  And I alone deserve the . . . supposed burden of guilt of saving you from your own stupidity.”

Freeman’s jaw dropped.

“You . . . you what?”

“I killed the thing that had taken over Michal Denso’s body.  It was not that human; he was barely a shadow of his former self.  What you wished to study, and I believe you knew this – was an infant Great One.”

A deathly silence filled the air between the three.  Freeman stared at Kell, only blinking occasionally.  Kell stared back, his eyes never blinking.

“So,” Freeman finally said, his voice a hoarse whisper.  “He was an embrion.”

“You should hope that you never find another,” Kell told him.  “Because next time, I may not be there to prevent you from destroying yourself.  Or I may not care to.”

Freeman turned, slowly, back to Brooks.  “Captain.  Give my regards to Dr. Urle.”

Brooks arched an eyebrow.  “You’re not staying, Director?”

“I must return to Sol,” he said, his voice distracted.  “Once my people have finished packing up Denso’s corpse.”

“If Michal Denso has family,” Brooks said.  “His body should be returned to them.”

Freeman did not spare a glance or reply, as he swept from the room.

Kell did not turn to watch him, only watching Brooks.

When the man was gone, Brooks returned his look.

“Is that true, Ambassador?  You killed Michal Denso?”

Kell turned slowly, moving towards the door.  “Your friend is very loud, Captain.  I should hope he learns to lower his voice.”

“Is he shouting into the dark often, then?” Brooks asked.

Kell stopped, his back to him, and shuddered.  “There is a stink upon him.  He believes he merely inquires, but he is disturbing things that your kind should never disturb.  It will have consequences.  I do not know the timescale, but it will be.”

Brooks steepled his fingers.  “I still regret the last time I shouted into the dark,” he said.

“That is because,” Kell replied, as the door opened and he stepped out.  “You are a wise man, Captain.”

< Ep 3 Part 56 | Ep 3 Part 58 >

Episode 3 – Trauma part 56

Captain Mayor Brooks

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

Verena’s eyes opened, and she realized she was in a hospital bed.

It had been seven years since she had lain in one, but she remembered this view of the ceiling, and how it had grown so tiresome.  If she’d been capable of it anymore, she surmised she might have even hated it.

It was disconcerting to be laying like this again, and for several terrible moments she wondered if the last several years had been a dream, if she had never left that bed.  If she was still just a patient at Medical Station 29, one with no hope of anything close to normality ever again.

The memories came flooding back to her then; of Michal Denso, of Apollonia Nor, and of . . . how it had ended.

She sat up quickly.

She had felt terror.  Not going in and seeing Denso, risking her life.  Not in confronting that, no.  She had felt it at the end, when Ambassador Kell had . . .

Emotions.  She had actually felt them again.  The bizarre feelings she’d had during that whole encounter, she realized now, had been feelings returning to her.

But only for a time.

Already, the feel of emotions was fading.  That terror she had felt, perhaps the strongest of all, was just a hollow shell of its former self.  She could poke and prod at the memory, try to elicit the same response, any response from herself.

But she could not bring it back.

It was not her, she could only guess.  It had been whatever form of contact she had made with Apollonia.  Perhaps . . . they were not even her feelings.  Through whatever strange power that woman had, perhaps her emotions had bled over, into her.

It was a simple explanation.  In some ways, perhaps easier than thinking she had herself, for at least a moment, been a whole person again.

Dr. Genson came in.  The man’s face was a profusion of emotions, and at the moment she was so tired that she could not even make herself begin to decipher them.

“What has happened?” she asked.

The man was pale, sweating, and stumbled over his words as he spoke.

“You collapsed and Apollonia Nor brought you out – with the help of Commander Jaya.  Um . . . Michal Denso . . . is dead.  He’s no longer exhibiting any unusual behaviour – no krahteons, even his mass seems to have turned into . . . well, what we would expect for a man his size.”

Idly, she thought that she’d have to start searching for Genson’s replacement soon.  Even besides his betrayal, he was getting too worn down by this job.  It happened to everyone, eventually.  Any species, of any make-up, no one could work on The Chain forever.

Almost no one, perhaps.

“I see,” she said.  “How long have I been unconscious?”

“Three hours, ma’am,” Genson replied.  “Director Freeman arrived an hour ago, and he is . . . livid is an understatement.  He said that he is going to push for your dismissal, though I don’t see how as you didn’t actually do anything to Denso in there . . .”

“Where is Apollonia Nor?” she asked.

“Ma’am, um, don’t you care about the Director . . . ?”

She did not answer him, merely staring at him in silence until his own discomfort prompted him to speak again.

“She’s returned to the Craton.  She was . . . bleeding from her eyes, nose, and ears, but she refused our medical attention and said she only trusted the ship’s doctor . . .”

Verena nodded, taking it all in.

Denso was dead.  It was finished.  And Nor had gone.

“What about Ambassador Kell?”

“Ma’am?”

“Was the Ambassador ever on the station?”

“Not . . . as far as I’m aware, ma’am.  But Director Free-“

“I need to rest more,” she said.

She felt something odd for a moment.  It was a sensation she could not quite place, but it seemed familiar.

She realized it was amusement.  It was fleeting, and fading already, but she’d felt it.  She knew she had.

An emotion that was hers alone.  A smile came to her face.

“Doctor’s orders,” she said, and lay back down to rest.

Dr. Genson clearly could not think of anything to say to that.  He stared, mouth agape for a moment, before slowly shuffling from the room.

Perhaps, when things were calmer, she would have the ceilings in these hospital rooms changed, she thought.

< Ep 3 Part 55 | Ep 3 Part 57 >