Chapter Text
Teaser
Ship's Log: 3 May 2641; ASV Aurora. Captain Robert Dale recording. I'm pleased to report that we have made orbit of New Liberty Colony, Universe H1E4, to take part in the celebration of the Colony's third anniversary. I'm looking forward to seeing old faces and catching up on how our little colony has grown over the last three years.
"We've assumed the planned orbit," Locarno announced, looking up from his board. On the holoviewer the planet was stationary below them, the lights of the New Liberty Colony visible with the dawn just starting to touch them. Several other starships were visible on the screen. "I've never seen so much traffic here before."
"It's a growing colony." Robert stood from the command chair. "Okay everyone, I know you're eager for some real shore leave. Commander Andreys is drawing up the rotation for the duration of the visit, you know she'll do her best to accommodate having everyone who wants to be there off duty when the celebrations commence. Jarod, you have the bridge, I'll be in my office."
Robert walked into the office and took a seat. He eyed his tablets and the reports demanding his attention. After a moment's consideration he'd decide to tackle them... after making a call. He tapped a few keys on his controls and waited for the local call to go through. A familiar face popped upon the screen. "Hello Beth," he said, grinning.
Elizabeth "Beth" Rankin, his cousin, smiled back at him from her own desk. "Well there you are. I'm glad you could make it this year, Rob."
"Oh, it'll be the day when I can't," he vowed.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she warned. "Since this is the first anniversary after the UAS officially started we're hoping to make it a big event. Maybe even a parade. Are you up to manning a float?"
"Oh, uh... a parade float, really?"
"Quite a few people have been trying to make a likeness of the Aurora for it," Beth told him. "It'll be fun.."
"I suppose."
"We've even got guests from Earth for the celebration."
At that Robert nodded slowly. "Yeah, I heard relations were starting to go well."
"We already have a starliner running a daily route to Earth," Beth said, smiling. "It's bringing us some new immigrants and plenty of tourists. It's been a bit of a headache for me, of course."
"I can imagine." Robert leaned in toward the image. "So, how is Gabe...?"
Zack stood in the open square and watched the population running about. Banners were already going up to celebrate the colonial anniversary and there was a vibrant feeling in the air. He allowed himself a smile and stood outside of a kiosk selling grain snacks of some kind, run by a young African colonist.
For all that he wasn't sure about the direction of his life, he had to admit to genuine pride in New Liberty. All of these thousands of people were here, living and working together from all sorts of cultures and creeds, united by their common background of having escaped suffering of one kind or another thanks to Zack and the others who had operated the Facility. At least here he knew the past three years hadn't been all a waste.
The truth was, Adrana was still on his mind. The simulation he'd experienced there had haunted him over the past weeks. Not only had it re-opened a wound he thought he'd closed years ago, it had also made him realize he had thoughts he'd rather not have.
He walked along the street, deep in thought, when he heard a soprano voice call out to him. Memory was already kicking in when he turned to face the origin.
She was plainly-dressed, a white blouse with red flower designs on it and a matching red skirt that went almost to her knees. She was beautiful, not in the swimsuit model way but in the way dimples formed on her face when she smiled and the homey "cute girl next door" look she held. Dark hair flowed down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes drew his attention.
"Zack!", she called out.
He stood in astonishment. "Clara?"
Clara Davis walked up to him quickly and put her arms around him. "I can't believe I found you so quickly! Everyone said you'd be here for the anniversary but..."
He accepted her embrace and looked into her lovely face, brushing a lock of black hair out of it. "Clara, what are you doing here?"
"Finding you, silly," she answered. "When I found out where you'd gone off to..."
"How'd you find out?", he asked.
"Everyone knows now, ever since the first contact," she replied. "Half the county thinks you're horrible and the other half loves you."
"Which half are you?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Her eyes twinkled with delight, but there was sadness in them from what Zack saw. "Zack, I came to ask you to come back home with me. Not for me, but well..."
Zack had stopped dead in his tracks. "Why?"
"It's your Dad, Zack. I think he's dying."
Undiscovered Frontier
"Father Figures"
It wasn't used much, but Julia did in fact have an office. It was on Deck 3 not far at all from her quarters but she tended to do her work from the bridge or her quarters.
But things were different now that she was juggling dozens of personnel schedules to make sure everyone got to enjoy the anniversary celebrations and shore leave. Even here, in a peaceful universe, the Aurora still needed to be manned sufficiently and ready for action at a moment's notice. Julia let out a long sigh and moved around a couple of department heads just to realize it would conflict with a third person's requested time...
The office door chimed and she called out for whomever it was to enter. She looked up from her work and saw Zack step in. "Hey Zack," Julia said in greeting. "Back up from the surface already?"
"I came back to file a request," he replied. Zack found a seat. "I know my medical leave has me on light duty, but I need a couple of days off."
"A couple days? Zack, the festival is in..."
"Three days, yeah. I'll be back before then. It's just..." He swallowed. "Clara Davis is here."
Julia looked up and stared at him. "You're kidding. Clara's all the way out here?!"
"Took the shuttle, yeah. She says my Dad's in bad shape. He might not make it."
"Oh." Julia nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I understand. Take all the time you need. Actually, take the Susquehanna."
Zack stared at her. "What?"
"It's no big problem, Zack. Take the Susquehanna and go to Earth. It's faster than the starliner and you won't be reliant on paying for tickets." She smiled at him. "Go be with your Dad, Zack."
Zack nodded. "Okay then. I'll let Clara know to save that roundtrip ticket." He leaned forward and took Julia's hand. "Thanks Julie, I owe you one."
"I stopped counting years ago!", she retorted with a laugh as he went out the door.
She had about five minutes of quiet time before the chime went off yet again. This time Jarod entered bearing a tablet. "Finished your part of the schedule already?"
"I wanted to get it out of the way," he answered. "I would like to ask for a favor."
"Go ahead," she answered.
"I need a couple of days worth of leave," he said. "And a runabout."
Julia stared at him for a moment. Realization came. "You want to go home."
"It's been two years," Jarod pointed out. "I've put it off long enough."
"So what are your plans, Jarod?"
"I'm going to give Sydney and some of the others another chance to leave," he answered. "Now that I've been gone for so long I'm hoping they won't be as disbelieving."
"And beaming him right onto a runabout is a pretty decisive way to convince him." Julia nodded. "Alright. I'll give you the Rio Grande. But only on one condition."
"Oh?"
"I want you to take Angel and Lucy with you, Jarod." Julia shook her head. "That's not negotiable. You've told us how dangeorus these people are. I can't let you deal with them all on your own."
For a moment Jarod said nothing. He finally nodded. "You're right, I'll want the backup."
"Go get packed up, I'll call them."
"Thank you, Julia." Jarod nodded and stepped out.
Julia finished a line of paperwork and went to call Angel when the chime went off again. She let out a sigh and called for the person to enter.
When Meridina entered she stood quietly before her. "Commander, I wish..."
"...for a runabout, right?"
That got her a quizzical look. "Um, no."
"Oh." Julia felt a blush come on. "Sorry, I just saw a pattern developing."
Meridina nodded. "I have been informed that a Mastrash of my order has requested a tour of the Aurora. I have handled security arrangements but I need you and Captain Dale to give final approval." She presented a tablet.
Julia took her stencil and signed it. "There you go. Which Master?"
"I am unsure," Meridina replied. "The order did not say."
"Well, make sure they enjoy their visit, okay?"
"I will endeavor to do so." Meridina turned and stepped out.
After getting off duty Angel tracked her sister to the science lab. Most of the science crew was off duty given they had no active assignments, giving Cat total run of the lab (granted, as Science Officer she had that anyway) and which was permitting her to do... something. "Cat, aren't you going to beam down? We're due at Carranco's by eight... twenty hundred."
"I'm just finishing some final coding," Caterina answered from her station. Angel stood up beside her and looked over the display. Search string fields were full with terminology she wasn't familiar with. "Then we'll be set to go."
"Coding for what?"
"A search program." Cat kept typing. "Remember how the Mass Relays in M4P2 had a warning flag?"
"Yeah."
"I searched the database but couldn't find why. And then I looked some more and realized that we've lost a lot of interconnecting data. We didn't get a full upload of the database when we had to abandon the Facility. The data gaps are bad. We need to find a way to fill them."
"You mean we need to find another Darglan base."
"Exactly!" Caterina smiled. "And that's the hard part! They're almost impossible to find if you don't have the right tools and know what you're looking for. What I'm doing is introducing a search pattern for the telltale traces of a dimensionally transcendental field in operation. I'm going to put it in the fleet's systems so that it'll search for any traces of these readings. That will give us an idea of where another facility might be."
Angel gave her a sister a smile. "That's my clever little sis. How long will it take?"
"As long as it needs to. Every networked sensor in the Alliance will be checked for results. It might take a few days for some to reply, but it'll be ongoing." Cat clapped with excitement. "Can you imagine finding another one?!"
"I think I can, sis, I think I can. But right now you need to wrap this up. Senora Carranco has a good meal with our name on it."
"You told her Mama's old recipes, didn't you?", Cat accused, but in a nice way.
"Maaaaybe."
"Don't 'maybe' me, she cooks the chicken enchiladas the same way Mama did!" Cat hit a final key. "Okay, search string is out! Let's get to the transporter room!"
But before they got to the door Angel's multidevice chirped. She pressed down on it. "Delgado here."
"Angel, I need to see you," Julia said over the line. "I have something to ask."
"Can't wait to find out," Angel sighed. "Sorry Cat, looks like you'l be enjoying Carranco's alone."
"Rio Grande, you are clear to depart."
The voice was that of Lieutenant Jany Palaia, a female Dorei and one of the operations officers in training. Jarod pressed down the comm key on his board. "Alright, Lieutenant. We're heading out. Firing thrusters."
He ran his fingers precisely over the control panel while, beside him, Lucy Lucero busied herself with monitoring the other ship systems. Angel sat at a side station set up as tactical. Lucy was in uniform but, like Jarod, Angel had opted for "civilian" garb; both were in brown leather jackets, Jarod having chosen a plain blue T-shirt and trousers go with it while Angel had a sleeveless black shirt and loose navy blue sweatpants.
The Rio Grande gently lifted off from the shuttle bay floor and turned about within the clearance guideline. Jarod gently eased her out of the bay and open space before bringing her back around to above the Aurora's primary hull. "Standby, Rio Grande, jump point to A4P5 being generated... now."
The jump point opened ahead of them, permitting the Rio Grande to cross over. On the other end they found the same solar system and garden planet. Here there was no growing city and colony, only a small farming colony established a few months before the Alliance formed. The settlement was intended to support the naqia mining operation being set up on A4P5 Abdis.
"Setting course for Earth, Warp 5.5." Jarod keyed in the course and fired the engines up.
"Warp systems operational," Lucy confirmed. "We're good to go."
With a press of a key the Rio Grande made the jump to warp speed.
Meridina was in proper blue robes, with her Stellar Navy rank insignia on the neck, when she stepped into the swevyra temple that the order had founded on New Liberty. The laymen who did the chores nodded respectfully at her as she walked in measured, reserved steps to the guest office. She tried not to smile but had every expectation of facing her master and seeing him yet again. She had much to report to him.
So opened the door to the office and said, "Mastrash..." She was quickly relieved she hadn't actually said "Ledosh".
Instead of the fine lines of her master's face, she found the more wrinkled, thin cheeks and face of Mastrash Karesl. She froze in place. She hadn't expected him of all people. Ledosh's main political adversary, the Mastrash who was arguing so hotly for the Order to keep its distance from the Alliance, who even opposed Gersallian membership in it, and now he was here.
"Greetings, Meridina," he said warmly. "You don't seem pleased to see me."
Meridina cursed to herself; she'd allowed a glimmer of disapproval to slip into her expression. "I was... simply surprised to see you here, Mastrash."
"I imagine so." He kept his hands behind his back. "I imagine you figured Ledosh would come. He would have, but there were pressing issues back home so I came instead."
"I see." Meridina kept her face carefully neutral, wondering as she did why Karesl had come.
"I know my views of our Order's involvement with the new Alliance contradict your's, Meridina, but that does not mean I cannot appreciate what is being done here, or even the existence of the Alliance. I simply disagree with our place in it. Besides..." His expression softened ever so slightly. "...I will admit that I also wished to see you, daughter."
Meridina stared, speechless with surprise. "You have not acknowledged me as your child for some time."
"You know how it is. Once you joined the Order, you became every Mastrash's daughter," Karesl pointed out. "But that doesn't mean I stopped caring for you as my flesh and blood."
"And yet you have sought to undermine everything I am trying to accomplish."
Karesl drew in a sigh. "If only you had become a student of Iladira. She would have put your energies to greater use. Ledosh has led you into embracing his obsessions."
"I have no obsessions, Father. I have convictions only. They tell me that Ledosh is correct."
"And as you are not merely my daughter but your mother's as well, you will hold to those convictions no matter what else may come." He stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I am proud of you for that. I simply wish it was for a better cause. Regardless, I would be interested in meeting these Humans you are now so devoted to. I believe your ship has quartering available for dignitaries, yes?"
Meridina swallowed. Mastrash Karesl, on the Aurora? There was something going on here, she was sure of it. But he was still a Mastrash, he had the right to inquire. "I shall speak to Commander Andreys about arranging quartering for you aboard Aurora," she replied. "Is there anything else?"
"Nothing for the moment. I will be ready for whenever you have made the arrangements. Mi rake sa sweyvra iso, Meridina."
"Mi rake sa swevyra iso," Meridina replied. She bowed respectfully and went out the door.
The tour she had been looking forward to overseeing was now something she wished she could prevent.
The streaks of warp space zoomed by the cockpit windows of the Susquehanna, providing much delight to Clara as Zack kept his eyes on the controls. "And you can fly this by yourself?"
"Yeah. It's made for one pilot in a pinch, but only if all I'm doing is flying. Anything more and I'd need a crew." Zack looked away from the board. "What's wrong with Dad?"
"He's got a number of symptoms that indicate he's going into liver failure," Clara answered. "And his heart has started to have an irregular beat."
"Is he in the hospital?"
"No, home care is all he can afford." Clara smiled weakly. "I'm one of the nurses assigned to his case."
Zack reached over and patted her on the shoulder. "So you became a nurse? Great, that's great Clara. You've always had the right personality for it."
"Thank you." Clara looked at him while he went back to work on the board. "You're different out here. You seem a little more stable."
"Not all of that is true," he replied. "I just have responsibilities now. Things that keep my mind occupied."
"Maybe, but I know you love it out here," Clara pointed out.
"Well, yeah, I do. I just wish I had someone to share it with."
Clara nodded. "So you're still looking."
"Yeah, I am."
"Good luck," she said, rounding out the conversation.
After spending part of the trip in silence, Lucy spoke up first. "So... this guy you're going to talk to... he was your mentor, right?"
Jarod didn't turn his head from where he was focusing on the board. Thoughts clearly stirred within. "He was the closest thing I had to a father," he said.
"Given what you've said, he was a jerk working for the people keeping you prisoner," Angel remarked.
That made Jarod turn to face her, looking rather irritated. "He cared for me in a way no one else has." After a moment, Jarod amended, "Until I met you, at least."
"I'd hope we showed how much we care," Angel said. She took a drink from her mug. "I think we picked that up from Rob's parents. I mean, they made every one of us feel like family when we were around, especially after..." She remained silent for a moment. "I'm the lucky one, I guess. Cat was so little she doesn't remember Papa. And our Mom worked herself to death to care for us."
"They should call us the Orphan crew, I guess," Jarod remarked drolly.
"Well, mostly. Zack's Dad is still alive. Which shows there's not much fairness in the world, Old Man Carrey is a piece of crap. Zack is tolerable because he doesn't take off of his old man," Angel remarked.
"Only 'tolerable', Angela?", Lucy asked, smirking.
"If I say more and he finds out about it, I'd have to beat him up again to put him back in line," Angel joked. "Best to let him believe he only has my toleration."
"Ha!" Jarod let out a laugh.
Not for the first time, he pondered how lucky he was that this group of people adopted him like they did.
Julia was in the Lookout enjoying her dinner for the night, fresh off her shift, when Meridina found her. "So, anything else on that tour you talked about?", she asked.
"Yes," Meridina replied. "I need to arrange a stateroom."
Julia nodded. "We've got some open on Deck 4." She looked at Meridina with an expression of interest, eyes narrowed. "You sound a little off."
Meridina remained stoic. "I suppose... Commander, I would speak on this, but not here? It is... private."
"Okay." She nodded to Albert. "Give Hargert my thumbs up for me. I'm going to finish in my quarters."
Albert nodded and went back to waiting on a couple of Ensigns from Science and Operations.
With her plate - a remnant of dinner sausage, carrots, and greens - in hand, Julia followed Meridina out of the lookout and to the nearest lift. When it closed, Julia said, "Deck 3, Section A." The lift began moving through the ship's tubes. "Okay, so what's wrong?"
"The Mastrash who came is not who I thought it would be," Meridina answered. "I had anticipated my mentor and teacher Ledosh."
"I remember him. Nice guy. A shame he's not the one who's coming."
"Agreed. Instead we have Karesl." Meridina let down her guard enough to show her concern.
"I don't think I remember that one..."
"He.... not here." The turbolift doors were already opening. They emerged into the corridors. Meridina's quarters were almost as close as Julia's, but Meridina followed Julia in the opposite direction. They passed Scotty's quarters and Jarod's before finding Julia's. Inside Julia had arranged the XO Cabin to her liking. It was spacious enough; the door opened into a room that was part personal office space - complete with personal desk - and part living area. One wall had a display screen while the wall behind the desk had a replicator. A divider to the left led to the bedroom and shower beyond. Julia had set up shelves with mementos of her life. Martial arts trophies adorned one shelf, basketball-related ones another, as well as academics. It was a reminder to Meridina of the combination of physical and mental strength that Julia enjoyed. Pictures of her friends and her late family were placed here and there.
Julia set the dish down on her desk and said, "Computer, secure door." The door slid close behind Meridina and locked. "Okay, if this makes you feel better... what about this... Carousel?"
Meridina let out an involuntary laugh. She'd learned what a "Carousel" was to Humans and found it amusing that her father's name sounded so similar. "Kar-eh-sal," she clarified, a smile on her face. Julia found her smile pleasant but surprising. "He is a respected Mastrash but he... I think you need to understand that my people and my Order are not entirely satisfied with the Alliance."
Julia folded her arms and didn't show any reaction. She figured everyone probably had a group or two who didn't like the Alliance in some way. "Oh?"
"Karesl belongs to a... side of our Order who believe that our people must stand apart from others. They do not object to friendship and cooperation - at least most don't - but they believe joining the Alliance to be an error. They think our people should have remained outside of the Alliance. And inside the Order this faction opposes any link to the Alliance government."
"I see. And I'm guessing that includes you?"
"Yes."
Julia nodded. "And now this guy wants a tour of our ship. Is there some kind of angle here?"
"I am unsure. He says he wishes to see more of the Alliance." Briefly Meridina weighed telling Julia about her familial link, but decided not to. "Or he could seek information that might be of use in the debate. How we treat him will play a part."
"Well, I guess we'll have to be on best behavior." Julia let out a sigh. "I'll arrange a tour and let Rob know. Anything else?"
"That should be it."
"Okay. I'll let you know when the quarters are ready for Master Carousel."
Meridina forced herself not to grin at Julia's possibly-intentional mispronunciation of Karesl's name. She nodded and gave thanks before leaving.
Even though it was early morning for Zack by Aurora's time, it was noon locally when the Susquehanna landed beside his old family home. It was one of a few houses set up on an old field that was being left fallow due to a combination of soil depletion and agricultural price-sustaining policy. Zack looked at the house, painted brown and dark yellow, and tried to bury his thoughts on returning after so long.
Dad's dying. It was hard for him to think about it. Partly because it seemed like it would never happen. Partly because, deep down, he knew that at times he wanted it to happen.
Which, of course, was why he didn't want to think about it.
Clara took the lead in walking up. "He should be awake right now," she said. "It's best if we don't excite him, I don't think his heart can take much strain."
"I'll do my best," Zack promised, even if wasn't sure it would work.
"Don't worry about it," Clara said, trying to be comforting. "It'll be alright."
Zack sighed, gathering courage. "Okay, let's go see Dad."
Clara took out the key to the door and unlocked it. They entered into the front hall of the house, the garage to one side and a walk-in closet to the other. The living room was ahead with Clara leading Zack into it. He noticed the interior was still dark blue; at least his Dad hadn't repainted.
"Mister Carrey?"
There was a grumble from the living room that Zack was oh so familiar with. "Thought you were taking the week off," a gruff male voice remarked. Not gruff from any natural gruffness either, but rather from a set of vocal cords used to screaming despite a rather higher voice than the owner wished he had.
"I was. But I brought someone here to see you."
At that invitation, Zack walked into the living room. He kept his spine straight and his hands at his sides, conscious of the fact he was still in uniform. His eyes settled on his father.
Gerald Carrey had once, long ago, had Zachary's build. But he'd lost it from age and too much drink. Yet Zack was still surprised at his father's appearance. He'd lost his beer gut and at least half of his body mass in the past few years. His hair had gone entirely gray and looked like it was thinning on top. His brown eyes were bloodshot and looked strained. He focused them on Zack and made a noise in his throat. "I'll be damned. You finally came crawling back to see how I'm doing. And just what is that monkey suit you're wearing, boy?"
"My uniform," Zack answered, trying to keep his voice emotionally level.
"Oh yeah? Red and black? What are you, a damned Mountie or something?" Gerald snorted. "I heard somethin' about you and your friends running off and doing crazy stuff. Guess it was right. I knew your mom was wrong for letting you mix up with those Dale folk."
"They're my friends." And Rob's father treated me far better than you ever did.
"Still pining for that blonde?"
His father's question went right to the opened wound in his heart. Zack grimaced before he forced his face to be neutral again. "It's not going to happen and I've accepted that."
That prompted a harsh laugh. Gerald reached for a glass of water and drank from it. "No guts. You never show any guts. You just follow your 'friends' like a damn lost puppy instead of going out and doing your own thing."
Something snapped in Zack's head. "I was doing my own thing," he growled. "And then I had to stop because of you."
"You quit instead of helping your old man out," Gerald accused.
"Your bookie was trying to make me throw games, Dad!", Zack shouted. He noticed Clara's surprised look and remembered that not many people had been told. "Do you remember that?! Or were you too drunk to remember anything?!"
Gerald's nostrils flared. "Still no respect. No respect for what I did to give you a roof over your head and food in your belly!"
"Mom did that," Zack retorted. "She worked herself to death, all you did was jump jobs whenever you got yourself too damn drunk to go to work!"
"I wish... I wish..." Gerald's face went from fury to pain as he clutched at his chest with his right hand.
Clara ran to a container near his chair, a spare set of medical instruments. She pressed the stethoscope to his chest. "His heart rate is too elevated." Clara reached for a bottle. "You've got to rest, Mister Carrey. Please."
"Sure...", he wheezed. He continued to glare at Zack. "I'll rest..."
Zack nodded and walked off, heading to his old room near the back of the house. His father had turned it into a junk room with old family things in it. He found an old chair, cleared some boxes off of it, and sat down.
It took everything he had to control the tears that threatened to flow.