Chapter 16

2080 a.d.

Under Way

Béla decided to go directly to the Bridge as soon as she dropped by her quarters for something to wear. She could greet her father and check things out with him later. As she entered her quarters, she found her blue sarong laid out on the bed table waiting for her.

‘Where in the world have you been?’ she asked, totally surprised to see it here. ‘I thought I lost you years ago!’ She happily slid it over her head and left.

As she stepped onto the Bridge, the great ship was passing through the inner gate. The interior of New Eden still surrounded them, visible on every viewscreen. The darkness of the exit chamber increased in size on the front view screen, eventually swallowing everything else. Then the side screens went dark.

As the giant chamber closed behind them, the rear view screens were slowly blacked out and the ship waited in total darkness while the air in the exit chamber was pumped back into the hollow shell of the world they had just left.

After a time, the outside doors began to open. Béla expected to see a sky full of stars. She was really looking forward to seeing real stars, again. What assaulted her vision was a sky full of the massive gas giant they orbited. Jupiter, brightly lit by the distant yellow sun, filled the sky outside.

The Bridge Officer, feeling the princess’ upset, took time to explain, sending her an image of what was occurring.

The great ship will drop rapidly into the gravity well of the gas giant before them, picking up incredible speed. Using its fresh orbital velocity, the ship would break away after a close, three-quarter orbit around the planet. With the free ride from the bounce into the huge gravity well, the journey home to Deimos would take one-third the time it took to make the journey out.

For the next few hours, the view from the Bridge was going to be pretty dramatic. The crescent moon of New Eden shrank rapidly in the rear viewscreen as the mass of Jupiter slowly increased, becoming even more frighteningly huge. Béla could feel the mass of the gas giant in her mind. It was almost alive with energy.

‘It is alive, after a fashion, ‘ Béla felt her father say to her.

She looked around. Sibilius, since his daughter had not gone to greet him, had come to the bridge to greet her.

‘Jupiter doesn’t actually think, but it has a nervous system of sorts, and may actually be self-aware, ‘ Sibilius informed her.

Béla hugged him tightly, stretching herself up to kiss his cheek. She radiated her loneliness and welcome to him, along with the fact that she hated feeling sorry for herself, but she remembered that long, lonely journey before Elaine had been born into her new body.

‘I realize how stressful this journey may be to you, but I am with joy to have you once again with me, my child, ‘ her father responded as he embraced her in return, bending down to receive her kiss and taking a moment to luxuriate in her radiant warmth.

As they were leaving the Bridge together, the gunner on duty caught Béla’s attention.

“You may want to see this, Princess,” he suggested. “There’s a small asteroid about to collide with, um, New Eden.”

“Oh, this should be interesting!” her father insisted.

They all watched the rear viewscreen as the gunner increased the magnification. A red dot marked where the asteroid was.

There was a sudden flash, almost too quick to see, and then the red dot vanished. A small puff of debris was barely visible in the reflected light of Jupiter.

“What happened?” Béla asked, confused by what she thought she saw.

In the plans of New Eden she had studied, there hadn’t been a weapons system designed.

“That’s the Asteroid Defense Project,” her father informed her. “We installed six laser cannons around Southern’s perimeter last winter. Six more are being built at Deimos Station. When we return in eight years or so, they will be installed around the perimeter of Northern.

“There’s enough fuel to make three more trips to the inner worlds,” he continued, smiling down at her. “We’re planning only one more after this, to close all of your projects on Earth. We will be returning to pick you and your lifemate up in about twenty years, so don’t get lost.”

‘The Carte Blanche will be easy to find, for I shall accompany her to the surface of her world, ‘ the Praetor spoke into all their minds.

“What?” Béla demanded. “I didn’t ask for your company! What will I tell people? ‘Hi, I’m Béla! I’m a Vampire. My companion here is a metal mind reader! We’re guests on the Boris Karloff Show!’ You are most certainly not coming with me!”

‘It has been commanded, ‘ the Praetor informed them all. ‘You are not in a position to counter the order, even as Carte Blanche.’

“Who gave this command, Praetor,” Sibilius demanded. “I’m in charge here, and I certainly did not give any order of that nature!”

‘You are in charge ‘now’, ‘ the Praetor suggested. ‘It is a standing order to accompany the Carte Blanche when the Carte Blanche is away from the ship. The Carte Blanche herself and the Seeker Eliannai gave the order. It stands until various projects in this solar system are complete.’

Béla shook her head, denying the charge. “I didn’t,” she cried, sounding confused and helpless. She knew she was the Carte Blanche, but she had no idea who this Eliannai character might be.

“Am I to understand,” said Sibilius, astounded, “that you received this order from Captain Alana and her Seeker?”

‘Who?’ Béla asked her father, projecting the question into his mind. ‘I thought I knew everybody on board. There’s a Captain? What’s a ‘seeker’?’

She felt her father brush her question away. She could see he was extremely upset about something and she couldn’t see what it was in his suddenly Praetor-shielded mind.

‘That is correct, ‘ the Praetor verified, responding to Sibilius’ question.

“How did this come about?” Sibilius wanted to know. “How long has this order been in effect? They have both been dead for over forty five hundred years!”

‘That is not correct, ‘ the Praetor declared, answering his questions in reverse order. ‘A life energy unit cannot be destroyed. The order has been in effect for fourteen months. At that time, the Seeker Eliannai reached through time to contact me in order to appraise the Captain of your current situation. Together, the Captain and the Seeker determined that I was to accompany the Carte Blanche wherever she goes until the completion of the New Eden Project.’

“How do you know it was her?” Sibilius asked.

This tale was too fanciful to be true, but the Praetor was certain of its facts, he could feel it in his mind.

‘How do you know which of your daughters it is when one walks through your mind?’ the Praetor responded cryptically. ‘She is recorded in history and is known to us.’ By us, Sibilius understood that the Praetor meant the other Praetors. ‘She is also under our protection. The Carte Blanche and the Seeker are our most precious charges. They are to be protected before all others.’

Béla was trying to work out this strange exchange between her father and his Praetor. She understood some of it; especially the part about her and someone called a Seeker being under the protection of the Praetors.

‘The Praetors? Like in – more than one?’

The living machines were acting as a group. This had never happened before, but there had never been more than one or two in operation at the same time. Now, there were three, soon to be four, Praetors.

‘Working together? For what purpose? Let’s see: there’ll be one Praetor with me on Earth; one on Deimos, possibly protecting the ‘Seeker’ if the Seeker is there; one with father on the great ship; and the University Praetor in New Eden. No, the Praetor informed father that the Seeker contacted the active Praetor on the ship, so the Seeker has to be someone in New Eden, not Deimos.’

It was too confusing. Béla walked away, leaving her father, his argumentative Praetor and the stunned Bridge crew behind. Moments later, she was kneeling under the tepid waterfall in the communal baths trying to clear the mush created by these wild, ungraspable ideas from her mind. She couldn’t even put her attention on what needed to be sorted out.

Afterward, Béla floated on the water, still hopelessly mired in an unthinking state of mind. She could feel her skin start to wrinkle from absorbing so much water, but was unwilling to get out and face the strangeness that seemed to surround her.

‘Maybe I can ask the Praetor for a mind-wipe so I can forget about this whole stupid mess!’ Béla thought to herself.

She surprised herself with that thought. She knew she would do almost anything not to be stuck in the middle of all this useless, unsolvable mess, but a mind-wipe?

‘That seems a little extreme, doesn’t it, ‘ an amused, feminine voice chimed in her mind.

Béla jerked in the water, causing her head to sink for an instant, and sucked an uncomfortable snoot-full of water up her nose. Splashing upright, coughing and sneezing, she looked anxiously around her.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Béla cried out into the nothing around her. ‘I must have been dreaming. Elaine? Is that you? Are you dream-walking again?’

‘Dream-walking? That’s a new one! What does that mean?’ asked the laughing voice, now more curious than amused.

The thought came from behind her! Béla splashed into a new position, frantically casting around behind her for the intruder. Beth sat, naked, perched primly on the side of the bath, smiling down at her soaked and distraught sister.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” Beth grinned, more entertained than apologetic. “I thought you felt me come in, but you were so wrapped up in your own...” whatever that was... she shrugged, at a loss to explain Béla’s state of mind. Then she was being pulled into the water and hugged and half-drowned by a very happy sister.

“Yike!” she cried, hitting her elbow on the stony steps as she was pulled down. ‘Hey! Don’t drown me! I’m happy to see you, too!’

“What in the world are you doing here?” Béla asked, laughing, surprised beyond belief that she wouldn’t be spending the next year all alone. She could see her sister trying not to project an image. The image stopped Béla cold.

“Elaine!” she said angrily. Elaine, unable to come, herself, had talked Beth into coming in her place, to keep an eye on their older sister. Béla sat, fuming, not knowing who to be more angry with, Elaine or Beth.

“So that’s why she was shielded!” Béla fumed. “So I wouldn’t find out about you!”

She really couldn’t get mad at Beth; she loved Beth and missed the savage lovemaking they’d had during the long outward journey to New Eden. After another moment, Béla decided she loved Elaine, too.

‘That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?’ Beth asked in her mind, gazing wistfully at her sister. ‘Besides, I hated being a temple goddess! All those fucking men wanting to touch you and kiss you and ... all the other stuff! I’m a girl’s girl. I’d rather be with you, anyway. Elaine could see that, so it was easy for her to ask me to travel with you. Besides, I miss Earth. I’d like to go back to stay. It’s my home!’

Béla looked at Beth, radiating her sorrow, both for herself, and Beth and her beloved, dying world. Beth stared back, stunned, not wanting to believe the terrible things she saw in her sister’s mind.

“No...” Beth whispered, trying and failing to break her mind-link and reject those horrifying images as tears flooded her eyes and flowed freely down her already wet face.

Béla embraced her, letting Beth cry silently, bare shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she vented her grief for her doomed world. After a time, Beth could feel her sister in her mind, somehow easing the pain, helping her past the moment of her grief.

“What? How did you do that?” Beth asked, more in control of herself and trying to dry her tears with her wet hands. ‘You’ve changed... ‘

Béla could feel her sister withdrawing, suddenly uncertain as she became aware of the power residing deep in Béla’s mind. Béla opened her mind, releasing all her shields, creating a safe haven into which she invited her sister, surrounding her with love and the joy of seeing her again. For the next hour, they sat waist-deep in the water, sharing their experiences on the strange little world they had so recently left behind.

They kissed, fondled and caressed, catching up one to the other, each one amazed and curious about the other’s adventures as they shared their minds and bodies.

After a time, they felt others approaching the baths.

“Enough foreplay!” Béla announced, cheerfully but doggedly separating herself from Beth’s mind.

Beth simply couldn’t get over the sensations of actually riding a thunderstorm all the way from the ship to the ground. She totally ignored the ‘terrified’ part of Béla’s remembrance.

“Where’s your room?” Béla asked her.

Beth showed her in her mind.

“Mine’s closer...” Béla suggested, wanting to continue the touching and kissing into something a bit more ... serious? exciting?

‘With maybe a little biting?’

Grinning at each other eagerly, the aroused sisters climbed out of the baths just as the off-shift crew was coming in. One of the crewmembers was the Bridge Officer, just now off-duty.

“How did it go with father, Raman?” Béla asked him, not really caring or, now that Beth was beside her, interested in her earlier mental anguish.

He just shook his head. Then he noticed the princess’ companion. His eyes widened in recognition. He was not looking forward to placing thought dampeners all over the ship, again.

“Pardon, princess,” he said, “I wasn’t aware of your companion’s presence.”

The sisters giggled at each other. ‘We’re companions, now?’

‘Of course, Darling! Forever, truly yours!’ Beth radiated, then laughed out loud, embarrassed by her private little truth.

“You needn’t worry about us,” Béla suggested. “We’ve grown a little more refined since we last shipped with you.”

‘We have?’ Béla felt in her mind. ‘Sez you!’

Béla looked sternly at her new ‘companion’. Beth seemed unrepentant as she gazed back with a soft, hungry smile, ‘I hope your room is shielded, sister... ‘ her images promising delightful mayhem.