30.
“I think the hardest part of deciding to participate in this mission was the fact that I had to give my cat away to one of my neighbors,” Captain Moon confessed. She was alone in her room, her tablet in hand as she spoke to it. “I’m not certain if you know what a cat is or not. The others probably either have mentioned them or will mention them at some point. They’re a small predator on our world. They have four legs, a tail, fur, and retractable claws. There’s large cat species, like a lion or jaguar, but we Earthlings don’t keep them as pets most of the time because they’re dangerous.
“There is a small species of cat, however, which we have domesticated. The Felis catus. We keep them in our homes, usually for companionship, but also because they help hunt vermin. The kind of cat we keep as pets are pretty small, um, about four kilograms I think? As an adult? As an infant, which we call a kitten, the cat can fit in the palm of your hand. They are born with their eyes closed and like many mammals are entirely reliant upon their mother to stay alive, although humans have been known to rescue orphan kittens and bottle feed them.
“Anyway, my cat, whose name was Fluffy, couldn’t come into space with me. There was no room on the Seeker for pets. So I had to choose between declining the mission and giving away my companion. I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss Fluffy until a few days into the mission, despite the fact that I thought I was prepared for it. I know that Fluffy probably doesn’t particularly care that I gave her to my neighbor to take care of. I don’t think cats really miss their humans. Dogs do. I’ll let a dog person tell you about dogs. I like cats.
“I think I have some pictures of Fluffy on my tablet. If I remember I’ll transmit them so that you can all see what a cat looks like.” She paused and laughed. “Knowing how things are going, I’m wasting all of this time trying to explain cats to you and they’re just as widespread throughout the universe as humans are. You’re probably laughing at me and saying ‘I know what a cat is you silly darkworlder. Everyone knows what a cat is.’
“Anyway, whether you know what a cat is or not, I like cats. My first cat was named Princess, and she was two years old when I was born. She was very tolerant of me when I was growing up, and I was devastated when she died.”
Ji-eun continued talking about the various cats in her life until a beep at the door alerted her that someone had come by. She paused the recording, then checked the time. She was surprised to see that she had reached the forty minute mark already. She felt good, preparing her message for the Yonohoans had really lifted her spirits.
She answered the door. Anders floated outside it, his expression serious. “Hello Captain. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“I was rambling about cats, so if you are, it’s not that important,” Captain Moon said. “How may I help?”
“It’s time for you to take your turn getting scanned on the Toormonda,” he informed her. “Liu and the Yonohoans have a better idea of how the Tunnel Drive is effecting us and we need to make certain that command staff and military personnel are cleared for duty. The policy of medical staff so far is that anyone who has progressed to stage three on their Tunnel Drive Exposure Gradient is to be relieved of duty for medical reasons.”
“I understand. I will look forward to speaking with the medical staff and the Yonohoans. Seeing as I require a medical examination which will take me away from the Seeker and may result in me being placed on medical leave, I hearby give command to my executive officer, Anthony Anders. Anders, you have command.”
“Yes Ma’am. I have command,” he agreed. He saluted, and she returned it.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
“Not as bad as it could have been,” he answered. “It’s likely that once you reach stage three, however, the disease will progress whether or not you continue to be exposed to the Tunnel Drive. We are waiting to see how people respond to the treatments that the Yonohoans have developed for us.”
Captain Moon nodded. “We’re putting a lot of faith in them already. A part of me wonders if we shouldn’t just tell them where Earth is and have them send a delegation.”
“That is an option, but I believe it is premature at this time,” Anders said. He sighed. “Aside from shooting down our probe, which was an unfortunate but reluctantly understandable misunderstanding between our people, the Yonohoans have displayed nothing but friendly intentions. Their gift of the Toormonda’s is significant and will have a profound impact on the future of Earth. However, human history has shown countless examples of what happens when two cultures encounter each other and clash.”
“Yes. And we have to consider the fact that the Yonohoans are human . Like us. In space. With claims that humans are among the widest spread sapient species in the cosmos, possessing a history which will challenge countless theories and beliefs and religions when we return home. How that information is presented will possibly cost or save lives,” she commented.
“That sounds like it’s above our pay grade,” Anders commented. “Our job is to report the facts as we have found them. It’s up to the governments to figure out how the chips will fall.”
“You’re right,” she agreed.
“But for now, I suggest you get your medical examination done with and enjoy your relaxation period aboard the Toormonda. It really is a comfortable ship. All soft edges and warm colors, no obvious welding joints or exposed wires or cables. Except for the instruments that we’ve brought over there, at least,” Anders commented.
“Has the crew already started trying to get our systems to work over there?” she inquired. “I thought I ordered a relaxation day. They shouldn’t be working.”
“Captain, with a crew like we have, for many of them, work is relaxing,” Anders pointed out.
She sighed. “You’re right. I can’t dictate what they do with their downtime.”
“The good news is that the Toormonda has already adapted to powering our instruments. That was pretty simple, really. We gave them a spare plug in, and the ship analyzed it and suddenly there are plug in stations all over. The engineers helped the ship calibrate them so that they all provide the right voltage and amperage,” Anders explained.
Captain Moon shook her head. “And they have an infinite supply of electricity for us to use, don’t they?”
“According to our understanding of the ship’s energy source, the Toormonda’s maximum output is only about seventy-percent what our fusion generator puts out,” Anders explained. “However, it operates at room temperature and is safe to the touch. And it requires no fuel.”
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“Arguably it’s more accurate to say that it pulls the fuel into itself from the universe itself,” she said.
“Yes, well, it’s still bullshit,” Anders said, grinning.
“Yeah. Yonohoan magic is complete bullshit,” she agreed, returning the grin. “Well, I should get going. I’m actually a little nervous. I don’t think I would be if it wasn’t for the fact that we’re talking about literal brain damage.”
“I understand. It might be best to rip off the bandage, Captain.”
“I know. Take care of the Seeker until I get back,” she said.
He nodded, saluted once more, then turned to leave so that she could prepare for the spacewalk to reach the Toormonda. She debated for a minute, then returned to her room and picked up the tablet one more.
“So, as I was saying, I’ve almost always had a cat in my life,” she said. “It’s amazing to realize, in the time since I’ve been without feline companionship, how much having a furry little critter running around actually means to me …”
She finished her recording before sending it to the shared folder which was being used for Project Radio Tower. She put her tablet into its secure charging station so that it would sync with the network – the wifi was still off – then stretched and changed from her dress uniform into one of the jumpsuits in preparation for making the journey to the Toormonda.
She received a few nods from the members of the crew that she passed, and one of them realized what she was doing and volunteered to help her get into her vacuum suit and check its seals and seems. She always enjoyed taking an EVA, but she didn’t have too much experience with them aside from being qualified. Everyone on the crew had been required to get qualified, despite the fact that normally she wouldn’t be able to risk herself in this manner.
The fact that the Toormonda could – and would – grab her and pull her to safety should she miss her leap was comforting to her as she made the leap. She was reaching the point where she was beginning to take the Yonohoans at their word for the capabilities of their technology, and they assured her that the Toormonda was smart enough to grab someone in danger on its own volition.
After some consideration, she almost decided to go across without an MMU. Many of the crew had done the same. However, she realized that she both needed to set an example, and also that she was too important to put herself at risks. She might trust the Toormonda, but she shouldn’t be reckless.
For a moment, she was suspended in the void between the gunmetal gray of the Seeker of New Discoveries and the slightly violet-white egg that was the gift of the Yonohoan people, and despite not being connected to anything, she felt connected to everything. Even in the void of space, she was part of this universe. She was here because she was .
It was a perfect moment of profundity which she enjoyed and put away for later. It would be hard to explain to anyone and not really worth the effort. Either they would understand, having had a similar moment of oneness with the universe itself, or they would not.
The airlock cycled behind her and she stepped into the interior of the Toormonda, looking around and noting the differences from her own ship. Everything was smooth, as though the entire ship was one solid piece, hollowed out. Even the airlock iris seemed to meld together once it closed.
“Hello Captain,” a voice said, and she turned to see Diego standing nearby in hologram form.
“Hello Diego,” she said. “Technically I’m not captain right now. Anders is in command until I’ve been cleared by medical and return to the Seeker .”
“Eh, you’re still my captain,” he said.
She shrugged, breaking the seal on her helmet and taking it off. She began taking the rest of her vacuum suit off as they spoke.
“So, this message is secure, right?” she inquired.
“Yeah. The Yonohoans said it’s as secure as they can make it,” he assured her.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded him. “Taking part in a sacred ceremony with an alien?”
“He’s not an alien, Captain. He’s a man. Human, just like us. He comes from a different culture, one that we don’t really understand yet, but he’s still human,” Diego argued.
“Alright, fine. But I still need you to explain yourself. I’m going to go under a review board when I return to Earth and have to explain how I lost one member of my crew to alien abduction,” She explained.
“Tell them that I’ve gone native, and that it was in the best interests of Earth that I remain with the Yonohoans,” Diego explained.
“And why exactly is that, anyway? You’ve been cagey about it on the radio,” Captain Moon inquired.
Diego was quiet for a moment. “Captain, the Yonohoans want to become our sponsor. They don’t want us to be sucked up and integrated into one of the three local empires. They want to fight to preserve our culture. Apparently, we were more lucky than we realized when we arrived in Yonohoan space.
“To begin with, Yonohoans have mutual defense pacts with everyone . And I mean everyone . To go to war with the Yonohoans is almost literally to go to war with the universe itself. It goes back to the liberation war, and Eodar, and the others like Eodar. When the soldiers finally agreed to stop fighting, they were all insistent upon provisions for the treatment of the Yonohoan worlds, Captain.
“That’s how they’re able to maintain their independence across multiple galaxies. They’re surrounded by empires that would like to integrate them, change their laws, abolish some of their traditions like the Korjakala. But they can’t because the Yonohoans are too proud, and they have the support of too many allies.
“If we become a protectorate of the Yonohoan people, then even if we turn down their help and technology, we’ll be safe from the empires that might seek to exploit us. Or ‘protect us’ the way that the Europeans protected their colonies.”
Captain Moon allowed him to speak his mind, and then thought over his words for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like it’s your decision to make, Sergeant,” she said at last.
“I know it’s not. If the politicians back home decide to spurn the Yonohoan and suck up to the empires instead, that’s on them. But the thing is, Captain, that having the Last Son of Eodar protecting the family of his Brother From Earth means that the empires can’t just push us around. It raises us from a nobody newcomer to the universe with absolutely no voice to … I’m not certain. We’re not a power player, but we have a seat at the table.”
“Because the Yonohoans have given us one.”
“Right next to them, yes,” Diego agreed.